LATERAL • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Lateral

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/lˈætərəl/ Listen

adjective

Lateral adj.

1.

Of or pertaining to the sides; as, the lateral walls of a house; the lateral branches of a tree.

2.

(Anat.) Lying at, or extending toward, the side; away from the mesial plane; external; opposed to mesial.

3.

Directed to the side; as, a lateral view of a thing.

Lateral cleavage (Crystallog.), cleavage parallel to the lateral planes.

Lateral equation (Math.), an equation of the first degree. (Obs.)

Lateral line (Anat.), in fishes, a line of sensory organs along either side of the body, often marked by a distinct line of color.

Lateral pressure or Lateral stress (Mech.), a pressure or stress at right angles to the length, as of a beam or bridge; distinguished from longitudinal pressure or stress.

Lateral strength (Mech.), strength which resists a tendency to fracture arising from lateral pressure.

Lateral system (Bridge Building), the system of horizontal braces (as between two vertical trusses) by which lateral stiffness is secured.

noun

lateral pass, lateral n. (Football)

1.

A short pass to a receiver who is upfield from the passer, i.e. is behind the passer relative to the direction of the passer's goal.

2.

A part or extension of something that points sideways, as a drift in a mine that goes to the side from the main one.

verb

lateral v. t. & v. i. (Football) To pass the footbal to a receiver who is behind the passer; to make a lateral pass; as, the ball was lateraled to the fullback, who ran it for a touchdown.

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Etymology of 'Lateral'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Lateral" Quotes from Famous Books

... assumes the appearance of a gigantic flight of steps, and being crowned at top by an irregular line of tall trees, it breaks the sky-line beyond the lake in a manner extremely picturesque. Here and there lateral gaps between the hills occur in the other sides, all of which are filled ...

— The Lieutenant and Commander - Being Autobigraphical Sketches of His Own Career, from - Fragments of Voyages and Travels • Basil Hall

... calf inside his gaiters, and not much chest to fill out his waistcoat, and narrower shoulders than a velvet coat deserved, it would have been manifest, even to a tailor, that the boy had lineal, if not lateral, right to his ...

— Mary Anerley • R. D. Blackmore

... vesicular enlargement on the lateral and under part of the tongue in horses, oxen, and dogs, which, although not of unfrequent occurrence, or peculiarly fatal result, has not been sufficiently noticed by veterinary authors. In the horse ...

— The Dog - A nineteenth-century dog-lovers' manual, - a combination of the essential and the esoteric. • William Youatt

... roused the people and nerved them to the contest with the enemy, and it also justified the sagacity of Washington, whose words we have quoted on a previous page. Burgoyne's plans were wholly deranged and instead of relying upon lateral excursions to keep the population in alarm and obtain supplies, he was compelled to procure necessaries as best he might. His rear was exposed, and Stark, acting on his line of policy, prepared to place himself so that Burgoyne might be ...

— Life And Times Of Washington, Volume 2 • John Frederick Schroeder and Benson John Lossing

... dismay. Large bodies of the mountaineers were perceived posted on the heights surrounding the valleys, and the column, embarrassed by its length and the vast quantity of baggage, was also exposed to attack by hordes who might at any moment rush out from the lateral ravines. Hannibal, therefore, ordered ...

— The Young Carthaginian - A Story of The Times of Hannibal • G.A. Henty

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