cusp

 
Pronunciation: /kʌsp/

noun

  • 1a pointed end where two curves meet, in particular:
  • Architecture a moulded projection at the point of a small arch in Gothic tracery.
  • a cone-shaped prominence on the surface of a tooth.
  • Anatomy a pocket or fold in the wall of the heart or a major blood vessel that fills and distends if the blood flows backwards, so forming part of a valve.
  • Mathematics a point at which the direction of a curve is abruptly reversed.
  • each of the pointed ends of the crescent moon.
  • Botany a sharp rigid point of a leaf.
  • 2 Astrology the initial point of an astrological sign or house: he was Aries on the cusp with Taurus
  • 3a point of transition between two different states: those on the cusp of adulthood

Derivatives

cuspate

Pronunciation: /-speɪt/
adjective

cusped

adjective

cuspidate

Pronunciation: /ˈkʌspɪdeɪt/
adjective

cuspidal

adjective

Origin:

late 16th century (in cusp (sense 2)): from Latin cuspis 'point or apex'