What is "cirrhus"

Cirrus \Cir"rus\, n.; pl. Cirri. [L., lock, curl, ringlet.]

1. (Bot.) A tendril or clasper.

2. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. A soft tactile appendage of the mantle of many Mollusca, and of the parapodia of Annelida. Those near the head of annelids are Tentacular cirri; those of the last segment are caudal cirri.

   2. The jointed, leglike organs of Cirripedia. See Annelida, and Polych[ae]ta.

      Note: In some of the inferior animals the cirri aid in locomotion; in others they are used in feeding; in the Annelida they are mostly organs of touch. Some cirri are branchial in function.

3. (Zo["o]l.) The external male organ of trematodes and some other worms, and of certain Mollusca.

4. (Meteor.) See under Cloud.

n. (alternative form of cirrus English)

n. usually coiled [syn: cirrus]