Decussate
[dih-KUH-seyt]
Part of speech: adjective
Origin: Latin, 17th century
1.
(of two or more things) cross or intersect each other to form an X.
Examples of Decussate in a sentence
"The main road and the railroad tracks meet in a decussate intersection east of downtown."
"The black and white stripes crossed to create a decussate pattern."
About Decussate
“Decussate” is derived from the Latin “decussatus,” meaning “divided crosswise,” but it also connects with the Latin “decussis,” which described both the figure X and the Roman numeral for 10. Words beginning with “dec-” can refer both to the figure X and the number ten. (In ancient Rome, December was originally the 10th month of the year.)
Did you Know?
In botany, the term “decussate” describes pairs of leaves with stems at right angles to one another that cross paths as they grow. The intersecting growth is described with the verb “to decussate,” but crosswise patterns of leaves and bark of plants can be described with the adjective form of “decussate.”
