An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

1) Resembling a strand of hair; hairlike.
2) Pertaining to or occurring in or as if in a tube of fine bore.
3) Physics: Pertaining to → capillarity.
4) Anatomy: One of the minute blood vessels between the terminations of the arteries and the beginnings of the veins (Dictionary.com).

From L. capillaris "pertaining to hair," from capillus "hair."

Muyin, muyiné, from mu(y), → hair.

The ability of a → liquid to → flow in a → narrow space, such as a thin → tube, without the assistance of, and in opposition to, external forces like → gravity. Also called → capillarity. It occurs because of intermolecular → attractive forces between the liquid and solid surrounding surfaces. If the diameter of the tube is sufficiently small, then the combination of → surface tension (which is caused by → cohesion within the liquid) and → adhesion (between the liquid and the → container) acts to lift the liquid. The capillarity of the liquid is high when adhesion is greater than cohesion. For example, water in a thin glass tube has strong → adhesive forces due to the hydrogen bonds that form between the water molecules and the oxygen atoms in the glass wall (made of → silica, SiO₂). In contrast, mercury is characterized by stronger cohesion, and hence its capillarity is much lower.

→ capillary; → action.