Pl. -i. [L. alveolus, dim. of alveus a cavity.] A small cavity; hence a. The socket of a tooth; b. The cell of a honey-comb; c. The conical chamber of a Belemnite, or the conical body found in it.
1706. Phillips, Alveolus, any wooden Vessel made hollow; a Tray. Among Anatomists, Alveoli dentium are the Holes in the Jaws in which the Teeth are set.
1746. Da Costa, in Phil. Trans., XLIV. 398. This conic Cavity is … filled with a regular jointed conic Body, called by Lithologists the Alveolus of the Belemnites.
1753. Chambers, Cycl. Supp., Alveoli, waxen cells in the combs of bees … The alveoli are all of a hexagonal figure.
1799. Corse, in Phil. Trans., LXXXIX. 229. The alveoli or sockets of the two grinders.
1881. Mivart, Cat, 27. Each alveolus closely invests the fang contained within it.
