英文字典中文字典Word104.com

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Centripetal \Cen*trip"e*tal\, a. [L. centrum center petere to
move toward.]
1. Tending, or causing, to approach the center.
[1913 Webster]

2. (Bot.)
(a) Expanding first at the base of the inflorescence, and
proceeding in order towards the summit.
(b) Having the radicle turned toward the axis of the
fruit, as some embryos.
[1913 Webster]

3. Progressing by changes from the exterior of a thing toward
its center; as, the centripetal calcification of a bone.
--R. Owen.
[1913 Webster]

{Centripetal force} (Mech.), a force whose direction is
towards a center, as in case of a planet revolving round
the sun, the center of the system, See {Centrifugal
force}, under {Centrifugal}.

{Centripetal impression} (Physiol.), an impression (sensory)
transmitted by an afferent nerve from the exterior of the
body inwards, to the central organ.
[1913 Webster]