vein Definition

vein
noun

1. anatomy.
Any blood vessel, apart from the pulmonary vein, that carries deoxygenated blood back towards the heart.
2. anatomy., loosely
Any blood vessel.
3. A thin sheetlike deposit of one or more minerals, eg quartz, deposited in a fracture or joint in the surrounding rock.
4. A streak of different colour, eg in cheese.
5. In a leaf: any of a large number of thin branching tubes containing the vascular tissues.
6. In an insect: any of the tubes of chitin that stiffen and support the membranous structure of the wings.
7. A mood or tone.

Example: written in a sarcastic vein
8. A distinct characteristic present throughout; a streak.

Thesaurus: streak, current, thread, strain, hint, trait.

verb

veined, veining
1. To form veins or the appearance of veins in something.

Derivative: veined
adj

Having a streak or streaks of different colour
Thesaurus: streaked, marbled, variegated, mottled.

Derivative: veinlet
noun

Derivative: veiny
adj

Etymology: 14c: from French veine, from Latin vena vein.