refringence

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noun

refractive power; refraction

OriginLatin refringere →
Scrabble 17
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Meanings

nounrefringence (countable and uncountable, plural refringences)

plural refringences

  1. countableuncountablenatural sciencesrefractive power; refraction

    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.

    1891 June, Charles Slater, “Memoirs: On a Red Pigment-forming Organism, B. corallinus (?)”, in The Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science (new series), volume 32, page 409

Origin

  1. Latinrefringere
  2. Englishrefringence

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

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French réfringence
  • réfringencerefractive power; refraction

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

referencing
Cite this entry
APA

refringence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/refringence

MLA

“refringence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/refringence. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “refringence,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/refringence.

Source: refringence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.