DIAPHRAGM • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Diaphragm

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/dˈaɪəfrˌæm/ Listen

noun

Diaphragm n.

A dividing membrane or thin partition, commonly with an opening through it.

(Anat.) The muscular and tendinous partition separating the cavity of the chest from that of the abdomen; the midriff.

(Zool.) A calcareous plate which divides the cavity of certain shells into two parts.

(Opt.) A plate with an opening, which is generally circular, used in instruments to cut off marginal portions of a beam of light, as at the focus of a telescope.

(Mach.) A partition in any compartment, for various purposes.

Diaphragm pump, one in which a flexible diaphragm takes the place of a piston.

See images of 'Diaphragm'

Etymology of 'Diaphragm'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

"Diaphragm" Quotes from Famous Books

... and buildings used by the enemy, unscrew the earphone of telephone receivers and remove the diaphragm. Electricians and telephone repair men can make poor connections and damage insulation so that cross talk and other kinds of electrical interference will make conversations hard ...

— Simple Sabotage Field Manual • Strategic Services

... delicate, the intermediate thick and at length tough, coriaceous, and resistant. When first formed, the peridia are spherical, they then elongate and expand, the mouth being for some time closed by a veil, or diaphragm, which ultimately disappears. Within the cups lentil-shaped bodies are attached to the base and sides by elastic cords. These are the sporangia. Each of these has a complicated structure; externally there is a filamentous tunic, composed of interlaced fibres, sometimes called the ...

— Fungi: Their Nature and Uses • Mordecai Cubitt Cooke

... I am not sure, indeed, that he greatly disagreed with the Chinese, who held that the soul lies in the abdomen. The Greeks at all events were right, he thought, who employed the same words for the mind and the diaphragm. (*1) By this I do not mean to insinuate a charge of gluttony, or indeed any other serious charge to the prejudice of the metaphysician. If Pierre Bon-Bon had his failings—and what great man has not a thousand?—if ...

— The Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Volume 5 (of 5) of the Raven Edition • Edgar Allan Poe

... replied the vicomte. "Has Mazarin published an edict forbidding a man to move his diaphragm? You know ...

— The Grey Cloak • Harold MacGrath

... three boys mounted the stairs to the floor above in silence—save for a belated giggle on the part of Verman, which was restrained upon a terrible gesture from Penrod. Verman buried his mouth as deeply as possible in a ragged sleeve, and confined his demonstrations to a heaving of the stomach and diaphragm. ...

— Penrod and Sam • Booth Tarkington

More quotes...