Lateral

Part of speech: adjective (a.)

1. Of or pertaining to the sides; as, the lateral walls of a house; the lateral branches of a tree.

2. Lying at, or extending toward, the side; away from the mesial plane; external; -- opposed to mesial.

3. Directed to the side; as, a lateral view of a thing. Lateral cleavage (Crystallog.), cleavage parallel to the lateral planes. -- Lateral equation (Math.), an equation of the first degree. [Obs.] -- Lateral line (Anat.), in fishes, a line of sensory organs along either side of the body, often marked by a distinct line of color. -- Lateral pressure or stress (Mech.), a pressure or stress at right angles to the length, as of a beam or bridge; -- distinguished from longitudinal pressure or stress. -- Lateral strength (Mech.), strength which resists a tendency to fracture arising from lateral pressure. -- Lateral system (Bridge Building), the system of horizontal braces (as between two vertical trusses) by which lateral stiffness is secured.