comminute (kominut)

t.; pret. and pp. com minuted, ppr. comminuting. [L. comm in utus, pp. of comminuere (> It. comminuire = Pr. Pg. comminuir = F. comminuer ), make small, break into pieces, [Their teeth] seem entirely designed for gathering and comminuting their simple food. Goldsmith , Int. to Brookes's Nat. Hist. Finely comminuted particles of shells and coral. IMG:content-0883.png:[blocks in formation] Those [fishes) that form this genus. feed chiefly on shell-fish, which they comminute with their teeth before they swallow them. Pennant , Brit. Zool., The Gilt Head. comminute (kom'i-nūt), a. [L. comm in utus, pp.: see the verb.] Divided into small parts; comminuted. - Comminute fracture, in surg., fracture of a bone into more than two pieces.