mammillate

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   covered with or bearing small rounded, nipple-shaped projections

   The cactus had a mammillate surface divided into neat rows of tubercles.

2. 2
   adj

   having a rounded nipple-like apex or outline, as in a shell, hill, or other structure

   The specimen's mammillate apex distinguished it from the flatter shells nearby.

From Latin mammilla, 'little breast or nipple,' the diminutive of mamma, + adjectival -ate. Naturalists and geologists use the word for surfaces or forms marked by rounded nipple-like projections.

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