refringence

See also: réfringence

English

Etymology

refringe +‎ -ence, from Latin refringere. Refract and derivatives come from the past participle of the same Latin verb.

Noun

refringence (countable and uncountable, plural refringences)

1. (physics) refractive power; refraction
   • 1891 June, Charles Slater, “Memoirs: On a Red Pigment-forming Organism, B. corallinus (?)”, in The Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science (new series)‎^[1], volume 32, page 409:

     By far the most noticeable characteristic is the highly refringent nature of the poles of the cells. This refringence is noticed in a very large proportion of the cells of a culture examined at any stage of growth, and will be again referred to.

Derived terms

• birefringence

Translations

refractive power; refraction

• French: réfringence (fr) f

Anagrams

• referencing