Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In archœol., a handle, as of a vase.
  • noun plural In astronomy, the parts of Saturn's ring which are to be seen on each side of the planet when viewed through a telescope: so called because they appear like handles to the body of the planet.
  • noun In anatomy, a looped nerve or loop-like nervous structure.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Astron.) A name given to either of the projecting ends of Saturn's ring.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun astronomy the most protruding part of planetary rings as seen from distance

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin ansa ("handle").

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Examples

Comments

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  • ansa: a bend in a river, or the handle of a cup.

    January 10, 2007

  • pl.: ansae

    April 24, 2008

  • gives a whole new meaning to ansaphone!

    (Or a couple, depending on ingenuity.)

    April 24, 2008

  • haha! good one, sarra. When I first read that I thought, "Oh, is that like a saxophone? Is it called that because it is bent?" Sometimes I lose touch with reality.

    May 5, 2008

  • In addition, ansa means a loop or structure resembling a loop (Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002).

    December 6, 2012