From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Nucleus \Nu"cle*us\, n.; pl. E. {Nucleuses}, L. {Nuclei}. [L., a
kernel, dim. fr. nux, nucis, nut. Cf. {Newel} post.]
[1913 Webster]
1. A kernel; hence, a central mass or point about which
matter is gathered, or to which accretion is made; the
central or material portion; -- used both literally and
figuratively.
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It must contain within itself a nucleus of truth.
--I. Taylor.
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2. (Astron.) The body or the head of a comet.
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3. (Bot.)
(a) An incipient ovule of soft cellular tissue.
(b) A whole seed, as contained within the seed coats.
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4. (Biol.) A body, usually spheroidal, in a eukaryotic cell,
distinguished from the surrounding protoplasm by a
difference in refrangibility and in behavior towards
chemical reagents, which contains the chromosomal genetic
material, including the chromosomal DNA. It is more or
less protoplasmic, and consists of a clear fluid
(achromatin) through which extends a network of fibers
(chromatin) in which may be suspended a second rounded
body, the nucleolus (see {Nucleoplasm}). See {Cell
division}, under {Division}.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
Note: The nucleus is sometimes termed the endoplast or
endoblast, and in the protozoa is supposed to be
concerned in the female part of the reproductive
process. See {Karyokinesis}.
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5. (Zool.)
(a) The tip, or earliest part, of a univalve or bivalve
shell.
(b) The central part around which additional growths are
added, as of an operculum.
(c) A visceral mass, containing the stomach and other
organs, in Tunicata and some mollusks.
[1913 Webster]
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