fissure

[fish-er] /ˈfɪʃ ər/
noun
1.
a narrow opening produced by cleavage or separation of parts.
2.
cleavage (def 1).
3.
Anatomy. a natural division or groove in an organ, as in the brain.
verb (used with object), fissured, fissuring.
4.
to make fissures in; cleave; split.
verb (used without object), fissured, fissuring.
5.
to open in fissures; become split.
Origin
1375-1425; late Middle English < Latin fissūra cleaving, cleft, fissure, equivalent to fiss(us) divided (see fissi-) + -ūra -ure
Related forms
fissural, adjective
fissureless, adjective
subfissure, noun
superfissure, noun
Examples from the web for fissure
  • The lack of members, or shareholders, is the corporate legal fissure.
  • Secondly the slope of the ground underneath the icecap is inwards, into the caldera, where the active fissure is at it.
  • Check out the nearby blowhole, a small opening above a fissure from which cool air is released.
  • To apply crack filler, pull any weeds from the fissure and brush out all debris with a whisk broom.
  • They found no underlying fissure or possible source of intoxicants.
  • The chamber narrowed into a long water-filled fissure.
  • Of course, there remains a fissure between what he says he'll do and what he actually does.
  • By a piece of incredible good fortune, however, the fissure that opened was a little narrower than his half-sledge.
  • The place was surreal, a narrow fissure so well hidden a wagon train could fall in before anyone noticed the ground was gone.
  • Its central part presents a deep longitudinal fissure, bounded by prominent overhanging anterior and posterior lips.
British Dictionary definitions for fissure

fissure

/ˈfɪʃə/
noun
1.
any long narrow cleft or crack, esp in a rock
2.
a weakness or flaw indicating impending disruption or discord: fissures in a decaying empire
3.
(anatomy) a narrow split or groove that divides an organ such as the brain, lung, or liver into lobes See also sulcus
4.
a small unnatural crack in the skin or mucous membrane, as between the toes or at the anus
5.
a minute crack in the surface of a tooth, caused by imperfect joining of enamel during development
verb
6.
to crack or split apart
Word Origin
C14: from medical Latin fissūra, from Latin fissus split
Word Origin and History for fissure
n.

c.1400, from Old French fissure (13c.) and directly from Latin fissura "a cleft," from root of findere "to split, cleave," from PIE *bhi-n-d-, from root *bheid- "to split" (cf. Sanskrit bhinadmi "I cleave," Old High German bizzan "to bite," Old English bita "a piece bitten off, morsel," Old Norse beita "to hunt with dogs," beita "pasture, food").

fissure in Medicine

fissure fis·sure (fĭsh'ər)
n.

  1. A deep furrow, cleft, or slit.

  2. A developmental break or fault in the enamel of a tooth.

fissure in Science
fissure
  (fĭsh'ər)   
A long, narrow crack or opening in the face of a rock. Fissures are often filled with minerals of a different type from those in the surrounding rock.