node

 
Pronunciation: /nəʊd/

noun

technical
  • 1a point in a network or diagram at which lines or pathways intersect or branch: the intersections of two or more such arteries would clearly become major nodes of traffic and urban activity
  • a piece of equipment, such as a computer or peripheral, attached to a network: the company’s internal worldwide area network now has some 22,000 nodes every node on the Internet
  • Mathematics a point at which a curve intersects itself.
  • Astronomy either of the two points at which a planet’s orbit intersects the plane of the ecliptic or the celestial equator.
  • 2 Botany the part of a plant stem from which one or more leaves emerge, often forming a slight swelling: the stem is cut midway between nodes
  • 3 Anatomy a lymph node or other structure consisting of a small mass of differentiated tissue: infection in these nodes may lead to backache
  • 4 Physics & Mathematics a point at which the amplitude of vibration in a standing wave system is zero.
  • a point at which a harmonic function has the value zero, especially a point of zero electron density in an orbital.
  • a point of zero current or voltage.

Derivatives

nodal

adjective

Origin:

late Middle English (denoting a knotty swelling or a protuberance): from Latin nodus 'knot'