ANNULAR

annular, annulate, &c. (lat. _annulus_, a ring), ringed. "annulate" is used in botany and zoology in connexion with certain plants, worms, &c. (see annelida), either marked with rings or composed of ring-like segments. the word "annulated" is also used in, heraldry and architecture. an annulated cross is one with the points ending in an "annulet" (an heraldic ring, supposed to be taken from a coat of mail), while the annulet in architecture is a small fillet round a column, which encircles the lower part of the doric capital immediately above the neck or trachelium. the word "annulus" (for "ring") is itself used technically in geometry, astronomy, &c., and the adjective "annular" corresponds. an _annular space_ is that between an inner and outer ring. the _annular finger_ is the ring finger. an _annular eclipse_ is an eclipse of the sun in which the visible part of the latter completely encircles the dark body of the moon; for this to happen, the centres of the sun and moon, and the point on the earth where the observer is situated, must be collinear. certain nebulae having the form of a ring are also called "annular."