Pronounced: BORE-stuhl, noun
Notes: I’ve run across this word, but I didn’t really know the definition
Yesterday’s word
The word decussate means “to intersect or cross”
First usage
Our word came into English in the mid-1600s
Background / Comments
Our word is mostly found in scientific contexts; it came from the Latin word decussatus (divided in the form of an X), which (supposedly) is a combination of decem (ten) and ass- (a unit of weight — a copper coin cut to a half ounce). The number 10 in the Roman numeral system is “X”, which is an intersection of two lines.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 