siphon
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle French siphon, from Old French sifon, from Latin sipho, from Ancient Greek σίφων (síphōn, “pipe, tube”), of uncertain origin; possibly related to Latin tibia (“pipe, flute of bone”), reflecting a hypothetical late Proto-Indo-European *twi-, *twibʰ- (“hollow”) root, but the irregular forms suggest a non-Indo-European loan (i.e. substrate) source.
Pronunciation
Noun
siphon (plural siphons)
- A bent pipe or tube with one end lower than the other, in which hydrostatic pressure exerted due to the force of gravity moves liquid from one reservoir to another.
- A soda siphon.
- (biology) A tubelike organ found in animals or elongated cell found in plants.
Derived terms
Translations
a bent pipe or tube with one end lower than the other
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Verb
siphon (third-person singular simple present siphons, present participle siphoning, simple past and past participle siphoned)
- (transitive) To transfer (liquid) by means of a siphon.
- (transitive, figurative) To steal or skim off in small amounts; to embezzle.
Translations
transfer by means of a siphon
steal or skim off in small amounts
See also
References
Anagrams
French
Etymology
Via (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin sipho from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Ancient Greek σίφων (síphōn, “pipe, tube”), but of unknown ultimate origin.
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Noun
siphon m (plural siphons)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “siphon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
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- Rhymes:English/aɪfən
- English 2-syllable words
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- English countable nouns
- en:Biology
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- French terms derived from Latin
- French terms derived from Ancient Greek
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