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decussate (di-KUHS-ayt adj., di-KUHS-ayt or DEK-uhs-ayt v.) - adj., in the form of an X, crossed, intersected; (bot.) arranged in pairs, with each pair at right angles to the neighboring pair. v., to arrange in an X, intersect.
In Latin, decem is 10, decussis was originally a coin worth ten asses (singular is as) which was marked with X meaning 10 but eventually came to be the name for the numeral X, decussāre is to arrange in the shape of that X, and decussātus to have so arranged. In 1658, English borrowed that as decussate. Used especially in anatomy and botany, but also generically.
---L.
In Latin, decem is 10, decussis was originally a coin worth ten asses (singular is as) which was marked with X meaning 10 but eventually came to be the name for the numeral X, decussāre is to arrange in the shape of that X, and decussātus to have so arranged. In 1658, English borrowed that as decussate. Used especially in anatomy and botany, but also generically.
---L.
