a. [ad. mod.L. acinaciform-is, f. ACINACES; see -FORM.] Scimitar-shaped. In Bot. applied to leaves, etc., ‘curved, rounded towards the point; thick on the straighter side, thin on the convexity.’
1774. in Phil. Trans., LXV. 104. The body … becomes of an acinaciform shape, to the point of the tail, which is rather blunt.
1836. Penny Cycl., V. 251. Acinaciform, scymitar-shaped.
1838. Loudon, Encycl. Plants (1855), 617. Dolichos tetraspermus … pods racemose acinaciform 4-seeded.
1876. Encycl. Brit. (ed. 9), IV. 112. When the veins (of a leaf) spread out in various planes, and there is a large development of cellular tissue, so as to produce a succulent leaf, such forms occur as … acinaciform, or scimitar-shaped.
