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Follicle - 7 dictionary results
Follical
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fol⋅li⋅cle

  [fol-i-kuhl]
Use Follicle in a Sentence
–noun
1. Anatomy.
a. a small cavity, sac, or gland.
b. one of the small ovarian sacs containing an immature ovum; Graafian follicle.
2. Botany. a dry seed vessel, or pod, consisting of a single carpel, splitting at maturity only along the front part of the suture.
Origin:
1640–50; < L folliculus small bag, shell, pod. See follis, -cle 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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fol·li·cle   (fŏl'ĭ-kəl)   
n.  
  1. Anatomy
    1. A small bodily cavity or sac.
    2. A crypt or minute cul-de-sac or lacuna, such as the depression in the skin from which the hair emerges.
    3. An ovarian follicle.
    4. A spherical mass of cells usually containing a cavity.
  2. Botany A dry, single-chambered fruit that splits along only one seam to release its seeds, as in larkspur and milkweed.

[Latin folliculus, little bag, diminutive of follis, bellows; see bhel-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Follicle

Fol"li*cle\, n. [L. folliculus a small bag, husk, pod, dim of follis bellows, an inflated ball, a leathern money bag, perh. akin to E. bellows: cf. F. follicule. Cf. 2d Fool.]

1. (Bot.) A simple podlike pericarp which contains several seeds and opens along the inner or ventral suture, as in the peony, larkspur and milkweed.

2. (Anat.) (a) A small cavity, tubular depression, or sac; as, a hair follicle. (b) A simple gland or glandular cavity; a crypt. (c) A small mass of adenoid tissue; as, a lymphatic follicle.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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follicle 
1646, from L. folliculus "little bag," dim. of follis "bellows, inflated ball," from PIE *bhol-n-, suffixed form of *bhel- "to blow, swell" (see bole).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: fol·li·cle
Pronunciation: 'fäl-i-k&l
Function: noun
1 : a small anatomical cavity or deep narrow-moutheddepression; especially : a small simple or slightly branched gland : CRYPT
2 : asmall lymph node
3 : a vesicle in the mammalian ovary that contains a developing egg surrounded by a covering of cells : OVARIAN FOLLICLE; especially : GRAAFIAN FOLLICLE —fol·lic·u·lar /f&-'lik-y&-l&r, fä-/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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follicle fol·li·cle (fŏl'ĭ-kəl)
n.

  1. A small bodily cavity or sac.
  2. A crypt or minute cul-de-sac or lacuna, such as the depression in the skin from which the hair emerges.
  3. An ovarian follicle.
  4. A spherical mass of cells usually containing a cavity.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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follicle   (fŏl'ĭ-kəl)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. A small, protective sac, gland, or cluster of cells in the body. In mammals, unfertilized eggs develop in follicles located in the ovaries. Hair grows from follicles in the skin.
  2. A dry, dehiscent fruit that develops from a single carpel, has a single chamber, and splits open along only one seam to release its seeds. The pod of the milkweed and the fruit of the magnolia are follicles.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Follical
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