Cen*trip"e*tal (?), a. [L. centrum center + peter to more toward.]
1.
Tending, or causing, to approach the center.
2. Bot. (a) Expanding first at the base of the inflorescence, and proceeding in order towards the summit. (b) Having the radicle turned toward the axis of the fruit, as some embryos.
3.
Progressing by changes from the exterior of a thing toward its center; as, the centripetal calcification of a bone.
R. Owen.
Centripetal force Mech., a force whose direction is towards a center, as in case of a planet revolving round the sun, the center of the system, See Centrifugal force, under Centrifugal. -- Centripetal impression Physiol., an impression (sensory) transmitted by an afferent nerve from the exterior of the body inwards, to the central organ.
© Webster 1913.