Vein

(vān), n. [Fr. veine, Pg. veia, vea, Pr., Sp., It., & Lat. vena.]

1Sense 1. (Anat.) A vessel in animal bodies, which receives the blood from the capillaries, and returns it to the heart; a blood-vessel.

2Sense 2. (Bot.) A small rib or branch of the frame-work of leaves, &c.;—called also nerve. Gray.

3Sense 3. (Geol. or Mining.) A seam or layer of any substance, more or less wide, intersecting a rock or stratum, and not corresponding with the stratification;—often limited, in the language of miners, to such a layer or course of metal or ore. Dana.

4Sense 4. A fissure, cleft, or cavity, as in the earth or other substance. “Down to the veins of earth.” Milton.

Let the glass of the prism be free from veins. Newton.

5Sense 5. A streak or wave of different color, appearing in wood, in marble, and other stones; variegation.

6Sense 6. A train of valuable associations, thoughts, and the like; a current; a course.

He can open a vein of true and noble thinking. Swift.

7Sense 7. Peculiar temper; tendency or turn of mind; a particular disposition or cast of genius; humor; strain; quality; as, a rich vein of wit or humor; a satirical vein. “Certain discoursing wits which are of the same veins.” Bacon. “Invoke the Muses, and improve my vein.” Waller.

I am to-day in the vein of chivalry. Shak.