NODE, n. 1. Properly, a knot; a knob; hence, 2. In surgery, a swelling of the periosteum, tendons or bones.3. In astronomy, the point where the orbit of a planet intersects the ecliptic. These points are two, and that where a planet ascends northward above the plane of the ecliptic, is called the ascending node, or dragons head; that where a planet descends to the south, is called the descending node, or dragons tail.4. In poetry, the knot, intrigue or plot of a piece, or the principal difficulty.5. In dialing, a point or hole in the gnomon of a dial, by the shadow or light of which, either the hour of the day in dials without furniture, or the parallels of the suns declination and his place in the ecliptic, &c. in dials with furniture, are shown.
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