Flexure
Pronunciation : Flex"ure
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [L. flexura.]
Definition : 1. The act of flexing or bending; a turning or curving; flexion; hence, obsequious bowing or bending. Will it give place to flexure and low bending Shak.
2. A turn; a bend; a fold; a curve. Varying with the flexures of the valley through which it meandered. British Quart. Rev.
3. (Zo?l.)
Defn: The last joint, or bend, of the wing of a bird.
4. (Astron.)
Defn: The small distortion of an astronomical instrument caused by the weight of its parts; the amount to be added or substracted from the observed readings of the instrument to correct them for this distortion. The flexure of a curve (Math.), the bending of a curve towards or from a straight line.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913