VEIN

I. noun Etymology: Middle English ~e, from Anglo-French, from Latin vena Date: 14th century 1. a narrow water channel in rock or earth or in ice, b. lode 2, a bed of useful mineral matter, lode 3, blood vessel , 3. any of the vascular bundles forming the framework of a leaf, any of the thickened cuticular ribs that serve to stiffen the wings of an insect, something suggesting ~s (as in reticulation), 5. a distinctive mode of expression ; style , a distinctive element or quality ; strain , a line of thought or action , 6. a special aptitude , a usually transitory and casually attained mood, top form , ~al adjective II. transitive verb Date: 1502 to pattern with or as if with ~s