NODE

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Latin nodus knot, ~; akin to Middle Irish naidm bond Date: 15th century 1. a pathological swelling or enlargement (as of a rheumatic joint), a discrete mass of one kind of tissue enclosed in tissue of a different kind, an entangling complication (as in a drama) ; predicament , either of the two points where the orbit of a planet or comet intersects the ecliptic, 4. a point, line, or surface of a vibrating body or system that is free or relatively free from vibratory motion, a point at which a wave has an amplitude of zero, 5. a point at which subsidiary parts originate or center, a point on a stem at which a leaf or leaves are inserted, a point at which a curve intersects itself in such a manner that the branches have different tangents, vertex 1b