elongation

ELONGA'TION, noun The act of stretching or lengthening; as the elongation of a fiber. 1. The state of being extended. 2. Distance; space which separates one thing from another. 3. Departure; removal; recession. 4. Extension; continuation. May not the mountains of Westmoreland and Cumberland be considered as elongations of these two chains. 5. In astronomy, the recess of a planet from the sun, as it appears to the eye of a spectator on the earth; apparent departure of a planet from the sun in its orbit; as the elongation of Venus or Mercury. 6. In surgery, an imperfect luxation, occasioned by the stretching or lengthening of the ligaments; or the extension of a part beyond its natural dimension.