a. [ Gr. &unr_; like + E. thermal. ] (Physiol.) Maintaining a uniform body temperature, usually above the ambient temperature; hæmatothermal; homothermic; warm-blooded; -- applied to warm-bodied animals such as birds and mammals, because they maintain a nearly uniform temperature in spite of the great variations in the surrounding air; in distinct from the cold-blooded (poikilothermal) animals, whose body temperature follows the variations in temperature of the surrounding medium.
Syn. -- homeothermal, homeothermic, homothermal, homothermic, homoiothermic. [ 1913 Webster ]