intercalary

From Latin intercalārius, from intercalāris, from intercalō, from inter (“among”) + calō (“call out, proclaim”).

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɪnt.ɚˈkæl.ɚ.i/, /ɪnˈtɝː.kə.lɛɹ.i/

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intercalary (not comparable)

1. Describing a time period inserted between others; leap, (as in leap day, leap month, or leap year)
2. (sciences, by extension) Inserted between other things
   • 1982 December, I. F. Zhimulev et al., “Intercalary heterochromatin in Drosophila”, in Chromosoma, volume 87, →DOI, pages 197–228:

     Breaks caused by chromosome aberrations in regions with repeats may not result in a sharp decline of viability, so that break points of chromosome rearrangements in intercalary heterochromatin may be more frequent than in other regions.

   • 2007 February 28, Kitokazu Agata et al., “Unifying principles of regeneration I: Epimorphosis versus morphallaxis”, in Development, Growth, and Differentiation, →DOI:

     In this new model, the anterior and posterior blastemas were formed as signaling centers to direct intercalary reorganization of body regionality or positional information.

   1. (botany) of a meristem: situated between zones of permanent tissue, thus a shoot growing at the base of a leaf, in comparison with apical growth at the tip of a root or plant.
   2. (entomology) of a wing vein: between the major veins common to insect wings.
      • 1953, Willis W. Wirth, “American Biting Midges of the Helid Genus Monohelea”, in Proceedings of the United States National Museum, volume 103, number 3320, pages 135–154:

        ...two radial cells, second longer than first; intercalary fork fairly distinct; crossvein r-m vertical...

• intercalate
• intercalation

intercalary (plural intercalaries)

1. Such a time period