vein

Everyday

1. A vein is a tube in the body that carries blood back to the heart. tree →
2. A vein is a thin line on a leaf or an insect wing. tree →
3. A vein is a thin layer of a mineral or metal in rock, like a vein of gold. tree →
4. «In the same vein» means in the same style or way. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons about the body, veins carry blood back to the heart, while arteries carry blood away from the heart. Veins look blue or green through the skin. In plant science, leaf veins carry water and food. In geography and history, miners followed veins of gold or coal. Phrases: «in the same vein», «a vein of gold».

Examples

• Veins carry blood back to the heart. tree →
• You can see the blue veins on your wrist. tree →
• The nurse took blood from a vein in my arm. tree →
• Look at the veins on this leaf. tree →
• The miners found a vein of silver. tree →
• Arteries carry blood away from the heart, and veins carry it back. tree →
• The second story was written in the same vein. tree →
• A dragonfly's wings are full of tiny veins. tree →
• What he saw froze the blood in his veins. tree →

Note

Countable: a vein, veins. Homophones: «vain» (too proud of your looks) and «vane» (as in weather vane) sound the same. Myth: blood in veins is not blue; it is dark red, and veins just look blue through skin.

In Jewish tradition

In Genesis it is part of the thigh, the "sinew of the thigh-vein."

Interpretation. It is the root of the law not to eat the gid hanasheh, the sciatic nerve. Jews keep this because Jacob was hurt there in his wrestling with an angel.

Examples

• Therefore the children of Israel eat not the sinew of the thigh-vein which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh, even in the sinew of the thigh-vein. (Torah GEN.32.32, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable: a vein, veins. Homophones: «vain» (too proud of your looks) and «vane» (as in weather vane) sound the same. Myth: blood in veins is not blue; it is dark red, and veins just look blue through skin.