Hypertext Webster Gateway: "torus"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Torus \To"rus\, n.; pl. {Tori}. [L., a round, swelling, or
bulging place, an elevation. Cf. 3d {Tore}.]
1. (Arch.) A lage molding used in the bases of columns. Its
profile is semicircular. See Illust. of {Molding.}
--Brande&C.
2. (Zo["o]l.)One of the ventral parapodia of tubicolous
annelids. It usually has the form of an oblong thickening
or elevation of the integument with rows of uncini or
hooks along the center. See Illust. under {Tubicol[ae]}.
3. (Bot.) The receptacle, or part of the flower on which the
carpels stand.
4. (Geom.) See 3d {Tore}, 2.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
torus
n 1: a ring-shaped surface generated by rotating a circle around
an axis that does not intersect the circle [syn: {toroid}]
2: commonly the lowest molding at the base of a column [syn: {tore}]
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