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What is "anfractuous"

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anfractuous
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Anfractuous

Anfractuous \An*frac"tu*ous\, a. [L. anfractuosus, fr. anfractus a turning, a winding, fr. the unused anfringere to wind, bend; an-, for amb- + fractus, p. p. of frangere to break: cf. F. anfractueux.] Winding; full of windings and turnings; sinuous; tortuous; as, the anfractuous spires of a born. -- An*frac"tu*ous*ness, n.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
anfractuous

"full of windings and turnings," 1620s, from Latin anfractuous, from anfractus "a winding, a turning, bending round," especially "a circuitous route," from am(bi)- "around" (see ambi-) + fractus, past participle of frangere "to break" (see fraction). Related: Anfractuosity.

Wiktionary
anfractuous

a. 1 sinuous, twisty, winding. 2 craggy, rugged, coarse, rough, uneven.

WordNet
anfractuous

adj. full of twists and turns; "anfractuous cliffs"

Usage examples of "anfractuous".

Between the thick cords were dark anfractuous clefts five times his height, tapering away to knife-thin fissures.

Shy, iridescent, coltish, pelvically anfractuous, amply busted, given to diffident movements of hand brushing flaxen hair from front of dear creamy forehead, movements which drove Bruce Green up a private tree.

A multitude of anfractuous cracks spread out from the rim of the segment as though tendrils of frost were gripping the tube.

However, has it occurred to you that under present conditions, the most feasible route may unavoidably be circuitousnot to say ambagious, periphrastic and anfractuous?