a bodily passage or tube lined with epithelial cells and conveying a secretion or other substance; "the tear duct was obstructed"; "the alimentary canal"; "poison is released through a channel in the snake's fangs"
a continuous tube formed by a row of elongated cells lacking intervening end walls
any activity that is performed in an especially solemn elaborate or formal way; "the ceremony of smelling the cork and tasting the wine"; "he makes a ceremony of addressing his golf ball"; "he disposed of it without ceremony"
the proper or conventional behavior on some solemn occasion; "an inaugural ceremony"
a formal event performed on a special occasion; "a ceremony commemorating Pearl Harbor"
an elegant style of prose of the Elizabethan period; characterized by balance and antithesis and alliteration and extended similes with and allusions to nature and mythology
serving to set in motion; "the magazine's inaugural issue"; "the initiative phase in the negotiations"; "an initiatory step toward a treaty"; "his first (or maiden) speech in Congress"; "the liner's maiden voyage"
occurring at or characteristic of a formal investiture or induction; "the President's inaugural address"; "an inaugural ball"
(often followed by `to') devoted exclusively to a single use or purpose or person; "a fund sacred to charity"; "a morning hour sacred to study"; "a private office sacred to the President"
concerned with religion or religious purposes; "sacred texts"; "sacred rites"; "sacred music"
worthy of respect or dedication; "saw motherhood as woman's sacred calling"
a punctuation mark (.) placed at the end of a declarative sentence to indicate a full stop or after abbreviations; "in England they call a period a stop"
the end or completion of something; "death put a period to his endeavors"; "a change soon put a period to my tranquility"
a unit of geological time during which a system of rocks formed; "ganoid fishes swarmed during the earlier geological periods"
one of three periods of play in hockey games
the interval taken to complete one cycle of a regularly repeating phenomenon
a stage in the history of a culture having a definable place in space and time; "a novel from the Victorian period"
suitable to or characteristic of drama; "a dramatic entrance in a swirling cape"; "a dramatic rescue at sea"
sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect; "a dramatic sunset"; "a dramatic pause"; "a spectacular display of northern lights"; "it was a spectacular play"; "his striking good looks always created a sensation"
used of a singer or singing voice that is marked by power and expressiveness and a histrionic or theatrical style; "a dramatic tenor"; "a dramatic soprano"
pertaining to or characteristic of drama; "dramatic arts"