a knot, a knob; a protuberance; a swelling.-one of the two points where the orbit of a planet, or comet, intersects the ecliptic, or the orbit of a satellite intersects the plane of the orbit of its primary.-the joint of a stem, or the part where a leaf or several leaves are inserted.-a hole in the gnomon of a dial, through which passes the ray of light which marks the hour of the day, the parallels of the sun's declination, his place in the ecliptic, etc.-the point at which a curve crosses itself, being a double point of the curve. see crunode, and acnode.-the point at which the lines of a funicular machine meet from different angular directions; -- called also knot.-the knot, intrigue, or plot of a piece.-a hard concretion or incrustation which forms upon bones attacked with rheumatism, gout, or syphilis; sometimes also, a swelling in the neighborhood of a joint.-one of the fixed points of a sonorous string, when it vibrates by aliquot parts, and produces the harmonic tones; nodal line or point.-a swelling.