vein

B1 Topic:The Human Body

US /ven/ UK /veɪn/ See IPA manual

Homophones

vain /ven/

Freq #9944

Meanings

1

noun
One of the tubes in your body that carry blood back to the heart.

The nurse found a vein in his arm and took a blood sample.
2

noun
A particular style, mood, or quality of something.

The play is written in a satirical vein.
3

noun
A layer of a mineral or metal that runs through rock.

The miners discovered a rich vein of gold.
4

verb
To mark something with veins or a pattern like veins.

Thin streaks of marble veined the polished floor.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · one of the tubes in your... venous blood vessel

More vena

Word family

Forms veinousveinsvenous

Derived forms veinedveinlessveinletveinlikeveinstoneveiny

Related forms venationvenous

Appears in

Phrases (5)

See all

emissary vein
a vein linking venous channels inside the skull with veins outside it

Noun + noun
jugular vein
one of the large neck veins carrying blood away from the head

Adjective + noun
portal vein
the vein that carries blood into the liver from digestive organs

Noun + noun
vortex vein
one of the veins that drain blood from the vascular layer at the back of the eye

Noun + noun
humorous vein
A manner or tone intended to amuse people.

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English veyne, borrowed from Anglo-Norman veine, from Latin vēna (“a blood-vessel; vein; artery”) of uncertain origin. See vēna for more. Doublet of vena. Displaced native edre, from ǣdre (whence edder).

veyne Middle English veine xno vēna Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

The Human Body

External links

# vein

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ven/
**IPA (UK):** /veɪn/
**Frequency rank:** 9944

## Meanings
1. One of the tubes in your body that carry blood back to the heart.
2. A particular style, mood, or quality of something.
3. A layer of a mineral or metal that runs through rock.
4. To mark something with veins or a pattern like veins.

## Examples
- The nurse found a vein in his arm and took a blood sample.
- The play is written in a satirical vein.
- The miners discovered a rich vein of gold.
- Thin streaks of marble veined the polished floor.

## Synonyms
- vena

## Derived Forms
- veined
- veinless
- veinlet
- veinlike
- veinstone
- veiny

## Related Forms
- venation
- venous

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: veyne
- Root: veine
- Root: vēna

## Etymology
From Middle English veyne, borrowed from Anglo-Norman veine, from Latin vēna (“a blood-vessel; vein; artery”) of uncertain origin. See vēna for more. Doublet of vena. Displaced native edre, from ǣdre (whence edder).

## AI Etymology
Vein is from Middle English veyne, borrowed from Anglo-Norman veine, from Latin vēna (“a blood-vessel; vein; artery”) of uncertain origin. See vēna for more. Doublet of vena. Displaced native edre, from ǣdre (whence edder). The historical line also includes Middle English veyne, xno veine, Latin vēna. In present-day use, it can mean one of the tubes in your body that carry blood back to the heart, or a particular style, mood, or quality of something. Derived formations include veined, veinless, veinlet, veinlike, veinstone, veiny.

## Topics
- The Human Body

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