fissilingual 
tongue) 4- -al.] Having the tongue cleft; spe- 
cifically, of or pertaining to the Fissilinguia. 
Fissiliriguia(ns-i-liug'gwi-a), . pi. [NL.,neut. 
pi. of fissilinguis, cloven-tongued: see fins! I in - 
!li/nl.] A group of lacertilian reptiles, with 
procrelous vertebra?, cleft, slender, protrusile 
tongue, two valvular eyelids (except in 0/ihiops), 
the legs well developed, and the general aspect 
not serpentine. The group is made to contain the or- 
dinary lizards of the family Lacertittte, the monitors or 
varanians, etc. See Ameiva and Lfptoylossa. Also Ft*- 
fissiiity (fi-sil'i-ti), n. [< fissile + -ity.] The 
quality of being fissile. 
By which it is evident that diamonds themselves have 
a yrain or a flaky contexture, not unlike the fissilitt/, as the 
schools call it, in wood. Jitiirle, Works, III. 521. 
fission (fish-on), . [< L. fissio(n-), a cleaving, 
< fissus, pp. of findere, cleave : see fissile, fis- 
sure.] 1. The act of cleaving, splitting, or 
breaking up into parts. 2. In biol., the auto- 
matic division of a cell or an independent organ- 
ism into new cells or organisms ; especially, 
such division as a process of multiplication or 
reproduction. Also fissuration. See cut under 
Paramecium. 
The human body is itself compounded of innumerable 
microscopic organisms, which . . . multiply, as the infu- 
sorial monads do, by spontaneous fisswn. 
H. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 490. 
Multiplication is effected through fission : that is to say, 
each globule or filament, after elongating, divides into 
two segments, each of which increases in its turn, to again 
divide into parts, and so on. 
Quoted in Set. Amer. Supp., p. 446. 
fission-fungi (fish'on-fun // ji), n. pi. Bacteria. 
fissipalmate (fis-i-pal'mat), a. [< L. fissus, pp. 
of findere, cleave, split, + palma, palm, + -ate 1 .] 
Semipalmate; palmiped with deeply incised 
webs ; partly fissiped. 
fissipalmation (fis'i-pal-ma'shpn), . [< fissi- 
palmate + -ton.] Semipalmatibn; partial pal- 
mation or incomplete webbing of the toes. 
fissipara (ti-sip'a-ra), n. pi. [NL., neut. pi. of 
fissiparus: see fissiparous.~\ In zool., a collec- 
tive term applied to fissiparous animals, or or- 
ganisms which propagate by fission or sponta- 
neous self -division: it has no specific classifi- 
catory signification. 
fissiparism (fi-sip'a-rizm), n. [< fissipar-ous + 
-ism.] In biol., reproduction by fission. See 
fission, 2. 
fissiparity (fis-i-par'i-ti), n. [< fissipar-ous + 
-ity.] Same as fissiparism. 
fissiparous (fi-sip'a-rus), a. [< NL. fissiparus, 
< L. fissus, pp. of "findere, cleave, separate, + 
-parus, < parere, produce : see parent?] Repro- 
ducing or multiplying by fission or spontaneous 
self -division, a mode of asexual generation by 
division into two or more parts, each of which, 
when completely separated, becomes a new 
individual: it is a usual process among the 
protozoans, protophytes, and other low organ- 
isms. See fission, 2. 
There are organisms which are fissiparous, and when cut 
in two form two fresh independent organisms, so diffused 
is the vitality of the original organism; and the same phe- 
nomenon may be observed in regard to human communi- 
ties. Encyc. Brit., XXII. 404. 
fissiparously (fi-sip'a-rus-li), adv. In a fissip- 
arous manner; by fission or spontaneous divi- 
sion. 
fissipation (fis-i-pa'shon), n. [Short for *fissipa- 
ration, < fissipar-ous + -ation.] In physiol., re- 
production by fission. Mayne. 
fissiped (fis'i-ped), a. and n. [< lj.fissipes(-ped-), 
cloven-footed, < fissus, cloven, clef t, + pes (ped-) 
= E./oo*.] I. a. 1. Cloven-footed; haying the 
toes cleft. 2. Specifically, of or pertaining to 
the Fissipedia. 
II. n. A fissiped animal ; specifically, one of 
the Fissipedia: opposed to pinniped. 
Also written fissipede. 
Fissipeda (fi-sip'e-da), n. pi. See Fissipedia. 
flssipedal (fis'i-ped-al), a. [< fissiped + -al.] 
Same as fissiped. 
The Fissipedal Carnivora were divided by Cuvier into 
two groups. W. H. Flower, Encyc. Brit., XV. 434. 
fissipede (fis'i-ped), a. and n. Same as fissiped. 
It is described like fissipedes, or birds which have their 
feet or claws divided, whereas it is palmipede or fin-foot- 
ed like swans and geese. Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., v. 2. 
Fissipedia (fis-i-pe'di-a), n. pi. [NL., neut. pi. 
of L.fissii>es(-ped-), cloven-footed: see fissiped.] 
A suborder of carnivorous mammals, of the or- 
der Ferx, containing all the terrestrial carni- 
vores, as distinguished from the aquatic seals 
and walruses, or Piiini/iedia. They have the toes 
cleft, the first phalanges or digits of the feet not enlarged 
2230 
or produced beyond the rest, generally reduced or rudi- 
mentary, and the limbs free and fitted for walking and 
bearing the body up from the ground. The series includes 
some twelve living families, thus contrasting with three 
families of Pinnipedia. Also Fi.<x/it''ih'g, Fistnpeda. 
Fissipermae (fis-i-pen'e), n. pi. [NL., < 'L.fisxim, 
cleft, + penna, wing.] A group of small moths, 
related to the tiueids; the plume-moths orfea- 
therwings, as of the genera Pterophorus, Alu- 
cita, etc. They are distinguished by the singular division 
of the wing into branches or rays, of which each pair has 
from two to six. These are most beautifully fringed at 
their edges, and much resemble the feathers of birds. The 
plume-moths are of small size; some of them are diurnal 
and bright-colored; others are twilight-fliers, and of a dull- 
er aspect. Some species have the power of folding up the 
wings like a fan, so that when closed they present the ap- 
pearance of a single ray. See Pterophoridce, and cut un- 
der plume-moth. 
fissirostral (fis-i-ros'tral), a. [< NL. fissirostris 
(< L. fissus, cleft, + rostrum, beak) + -al.] In 
oniitlt., having 
the beak broad 
and deeply 
cleft, as a 
swallow, swift, 
or goatsucker; 
specifically, of 
orpertainingto 
theFissirostres. 
This group has 
been abolished, 
Fissirostral Bill of Goatsucker. 
, 
but fissirostral is 
retained as a con- 
venient descriptive epithet. Fissirostral barbets. See 
barbel. 
Fissirostres (fis-i-ros'trez), n. pi. [NL., pi. of 
fissirostris: see fissirostral.'] In Cuvier's sys- 
tem of classification, a division of his Passeri- 
nce, including the swallows, swifts, and goat- 
suckers ; an artificial group, the original com- 
ponents of which are now separated in different 
orders. It was formerly divided into Nocturna and 
Diurna. By some the Fissirostres were made to include 
various other broad-billed birds, as kingfishers, trogons, 
and bee-eaters. 
fissive (fis'iv), a. [< L. fissus, pp. of findere, 
cleave (see fissile), + -ive.] Pertaining to or of 
the nature of fission. 
The whole plant is built up by the fissive multiplication 
of the simple cell in which it takes its origin. 
Huxley and Martin, Elementary Biology, p. 415. 
fissle ' (fis'l), v. i. ; pret. and pp. fissled, ppr. fis- 
sling. [Sc. ; also written fissel, fissil, usually 
fizzle ; an imitative word, in part a variant of 
E. whistle (in some parts of Scotland E. wit 
is sounded/): see fizzle and whistle.] 1. Same 
as fizzle, 1. 2. To rustle, as leaves in the 
wind. 
He thought, Mr. Lovel, that he heard the curtains o' his 
\>eA fissil. Scott, Antiquary, ix. 
3. To whistle, as wind through a keyhole. 4. 
To fidget. [Prov. Eng. or Scotch in all senses.] 
fissle 1 (fis'l), n. [Also written fissel, fissil; < fis- 
sle 1 , v.~\ Bustle. [Scotch.] 
fissle 2 (fis'l), n. A dialectal variant of thistle. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
fissura (fi-su'ra), .; pi. fissurce (-re). [L.: see 
fissure.] In dnat. : (a) A fissure, cleft, rift, or 
chink between any two things or parts: as, 
the fissura palpebrarum (the opening between 
the eyelids). (6) Especially, one of the fissures 
or sulci of the surface of the brain, complemen- 
tary to the gyri or convolutions. This Latin 
form is now used in comparatively few phrases. 
See fissure. 
fissural (nsh'ur-al), a. [< fissure -t- -al.'] In 
anat., of or pertaining to a fissure or sulcus. 
See fissure. 
To confine the discussion of the fissural pattern to a 
brief statement of what appear to be the constant and 
the inconstant fissural characters. 
Wilder and Gage, Anat. Tech., p. 501. 
fissuration (fish-u-ra'shon), n. [= F. fissura- 
tion; as fissure + -ation.] 1. The act of fis- 
suring, or the state of being fissured. 
Whether fissuration be due to mechanical causes or rep- 
resent lines of retarded growth, each fissure [in brains of 
idiots, etc.] is probably not due to a distinct process, but 
is in many cases, as Dr. A. J. Parker had shown, due to 
vegetative repetition. Amer. Jour. Psychol., I. 342. 
2. In biol., same as fission, 2. 
The multiplication of the species is effected in some by 
spontaneous division or fissuration. 
Jabez Hogg, The Microscope. 
fissure (fish'ur), n. [= F. fissure = Sp. fisura 
= Pg. fissura = It. fissura, fessura, < L. fissura, 
a cleft, chink, fissure, < fissus, pp. of findere, 
cleave, separate, = E. bite: see bite, and cf. 
fent, fissile, and fission.] 1. A narrow longitu- 
dinal opening or groove ; a cleft, crack, or chink ; 
a line of separation in any substance produced 
Fissurella 
by parting or cleavage: as, a fissure in the 
earth or in a rock. 
A Fissure into the Earth, of a great depth ; but withal 
so narrow that it is not discernible to the Eye till you ar- 
rive just upon it. Uaiaulrell, Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 5. 
2. In surg. and anat., any solution of continuity 
in a bone, membrane, or muscle, or a natural di- 
vision or groove between adjoining parts of lik 
substance; a fissura: a sulcus: as, the longitu- 
dinal fissure of the brain, separating the hemi- 
spheres. 3. Inentom.: () A deep, sharp longi- 
tudinal depression of a surface. (6) A very deep 
angular notch in a margin, almost dividing the 
part or organ. 4. In bot., the opening between 
segments of a cleft leaf or other organ ; a slit 
formed by the dehisceuce of an anther or a cap- 
sule. 5. In her., a bearing resembling the bend 
sinister, but having one fourth the width of the 
bend, and capable of being borne on any part of 
the shield, sometimes in connection with others, 
sometimes with a bend sinister, a scarpe, or 
the like. Also called staff. 6. In pathol., a 
crack-like sore or ulcer : as, an anal fissure. 
Auricular fissure, a fissure between the vaginal and mas- 
told processes of the temporal bone for the exit of the 
auricular branch of the vagus nerve. Buccal fissures. 
See buccal openings, under buccal. Calcarine fissure. 
See calcariiif . Callosomarginal fissure, the sulcus 
bounding the gyrus fornicatus above, and turning up to 
terminate a short distance behind the upper extremity of 
the fissure of Rolando. See cut under cerebral. Central 
fissure, the fissure of Rolando. Choroldal, collateral, 
crescent, flmbrial, etc., fissure. See the adjectives. 
Fissure Of Rolando, a deep sulcus separating the fron- 
tal and parietal lobes of the cerebrum on each side, on 
the superior and external surface of the cerebrum. See 
cuts under cerebral and gyrus. Fissure of Sylvius, the 
largest, deepest, and most constant of the fissures of the 
mammalian brain. It has a short anterior and long pos- 
terior branch, the latter separating the temporal from the 
parietal lobe. See cuts under cerebral and gyrus. Fls- 
sures of the brain, in anat., the depressions or sulci 
separating the convolutions or gyri. See sulcus. Glase- 
rian fissure, the cleft between the squamosal and the 
tympanic elements of the temporal bone, separating the 
glenoid fossa proper from the vaginal plate of the tym- 
panic, lodging the processus gracilis of the malleus, and 
transmitting the tympanic branch of the internal maxil- 
lary artery. Great horizontal fissure of the cere- 
bellum. See cerebellum. Hlppocampal fissure. See 
hippocampal. Intraparletal fissure, a deep sulcus on 
the convex surface of the parietal lobe of each cerebral 
hemisphere. See cut under cerebral. Palpebral fis- 
sure, the eleft between the eyelids. Seejuuura. Parleto- 
occlpltal fissure, the sulcus on the median surface of each 
cerebral hemisphere. Its extremity reaches the convex 
surface and marks the boundary between the parietal and 
occipital lobes. See cut under cerebral. Portal fissure, 
the porta or gateway of the liver ; the short, deep trans- 
verse fissure on the under side of the right lobe, joining 
the longitudinal fissure at right angles. Also called <r<m- 
verse fissure. Pterygomaxillary fissure, the vertical 
interval between the body of the superior maxillary bone 
and the pterygoid process of the sphenoid bone, leading 
from the zygomatic fossa to the sphenomaxillary fossa. 
Sphenoidal fissure, the interval between the greater and 
lesser wings of the sphenoid bone ; the anterior lacerate 
foramen of the skull, throwing the cerebral and orbital 
cavities into communication, and transmitting the third, 
fourth, and sixth cranial nerves, and the first division of 
the fifth, and the ophthalmic vein. See cut under ftpfie- 
nnid. SphenomaxlUary fissure, the horizontal inter- 
val between the sphenoid and superior maxillary bones, 
situated at the outer and back part of the bony orbit of 
the eye, throwing the orbital cavity into communication 
with the temporal, the zygomatic, and the sphenomaxil- 
lary fossa; respectively. Transverse fissure. Same as 
portal fissure. Umbilical fissure, the cleft of the liver 
which receives the round ligament or the fibrous cord de- 
noting the umbilical vein after its lumen is obliterated. 
fissure (fish'ur), v. ; pret. and pp. fissured, ppr. 
fissuring. ft fissure, n.] I. traits. To cleave; 
split ; divide ; crack or fracture. 
By a fall or blow the scull may be fissured or fractured. 
Wiseman, Surgery, v. 9. 
II. intrans. To crack ; cleave ; split open, 
fissured (fish'urd), p. a. Having a fissure or 
fissures; cleft; split; divided. 
Ivy clasped 
Thefismred stones with its entwining arms. 
Shelley, Alastor. 
Their surfaces are rough, and fissured with branching 
cracks. Darwin, Oeol. Observations, i. 43. 
Specifically (a) In bot., cleft or split. 
Almost every flower . . . had . . . [its] rostella/smred. 
Darwin, Fertil. of Orchids by Insects, p. 108. 
(6) In entom., partly divided by one or more very deep 
notches : specifically applied to the wings of certain in- 
sects which appear split into two or more parts, as in the 
Pterophoridce, a family of small moths. 
fissureless (fish'ur-les), a. [< fissure + -less.] 
Without fissure or cleft. 
Seeds of Acer platanoides and of wheat which had fallen 
between pieces of ice in an ice-house germinated there and 
pushed a number of roots several inches deep into the 
fissureless pieces of ice. Sachs, Botany (trans.), p. 650. 
Fissurella (fis-n-rel'a), n. [NL., dim. of L. 
fissura, a fissure: see fissure.] The typical 
genus of keyhole-limpets of the family Fissu- 
rellidce. F. nodosa is an example. 
