a. [ad. L. formīcantem, pr. pple. of formīcāre to crawl like ants (said of the pulse or skin), f. formīca ant.] Crawling like an ant; in Path. of the pulse (see quot. 1893).
1707. Floyer, Physic. Pulse-Watch, 51. A formicant Pulse is like the motion of an Ant, who moves her Feet oft without going much forward; this Pulse is the extream weak, small, and frequent.
1842. Dunglison, Dict. Med. (ed. 3), Formicant.… An epithet, given to the pulse when extremely small, scarcely perceptible, unequal, and communicating a sensation like that of the motion of an ant through a thin texture.
