Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Dorsal

Dor′sal (dôr′sal), a. [F. dorsal, LL. dorsalis, fr. L. dorsualis, fr. dorsum back; cf. Gr. δειράς, δειρή, mountain ridge. Cf. Dorse, Dorsel, Dosel.] 1. (Anat.) Pertaining to, or situated near, the back, or dorsum, of an animal or of one of its parts; notal; tergal; neural; as, the dorsal fin of a fish; the dorsal artery of the tongue; — opposed to ventral.

2. (Bot.) (a) Pertaining to the surface naturally inferior, as of a leaf. (b) Pertaining to the surface naturally superior, as of a creeping hepatic moss.

Dorsal vessel (Zoöl.), a central pulsating blood vessel along the back of insects, acting as a heart.

Dor′sal, n. [LL. dorsale, neut. fr. dorsalis. See Dorsal, a.] (Fine Arts) A hanging, usually of rich stuff, at the back of a throne, or of an altar, or in any similar position.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.