'Columnar structure' definitions:

Definition of 'Columnar structure'

From: GCIDE
  • Structure \Struc"ture\, n. [L. structura, from struere, structum, to arrange, build, construct; perhaps akin to E. strew: cf. F. structure. Cf. Construe, Destroy, Instrument, Obstruct.]
  • 1. The act of building; the practice of erecting buildings; construction. [R.] [1913 Webster]
  • His son builds on, and never is content Till the last farthing is in structure spent. --J. Dryden, Jr. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Manner of building; form; make; construction. [1913 Webster]
  • Want of insight into the structure and constitution of the terraqueous globe. --Woodward. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Arrangement of parts, of organs, or of constituent particles, in a substance or body; as, the structure of a rock or a mineral; the structure of a sentence. [1913 Webster]
  • It [basalt] has often a prismatic structure. --Dana. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. (Biol.) Manner of organization; the arrangement of the different tissues or parts of animal and vegetable organisms; as, organic structure, or the structure of animals and plants; cellular structure. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. That which is built; a building; esp., a building of some size or magnificence; an edifice. [1913 Webster]
  • There stands a structure of majestic frame. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
  • Columnar structure. See under Columnar. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Columnar structure'

From: GCIDE
  • Columnar \Co*lum"nar\, a. [L. columnaris, fr. columna.] Formed in columns; having the form of a column or columns; like the shaft of a column. [1913 Webster]
  • Columnar epithelium (Anat.), epithelium in which the cells are prismatic in form, and set upright on the surface they cover.
  • Columnar structure (Geol.), a structure consisting of more or less regular columns, usually six-sided, but sometimes with eight or more sides. The columns are often fractured transversely, with a cup joint, showing a concave surface above. This structure is characteristic of certain igneous rocks, as basalt, and is due to contraction in cooling. [1913 Webster]