Friday, March 15, 2013

Axial v. Axillary

These words might be confused by the uninitiated.  Let's try to make sense of them.

Axial (adj.) is related to the word axis, and is therefore anything relating to, characterized by, or forming an axis, such as the axial length of the field is three acres.  Axial also means a force which acts perpendicular to the plane of action, as in the (weight) bearing capacity of one unit in relation to another.

Axillary (adj.) refers to the axillae, the armpits, as in "the axillary glands are regularly examined by a physician during routine physical exams."