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bulb

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bulb

[buhlb]
–noun
1. Botany.
a. a usually subterranean and often globular bud having fleshy leaves emergent at the top and a stem reduced to a flat disk, rooting from the underside, as in the onion and lily.
b. a plant growing from such a bud.
2. any round, enlarged part, esp. at the end of a cylindrical object: the bulb of a thermometer.
3. Electricity.
a. the glass housing, in which a partial vacuum has been established, that contains the filament of an incandescent electric lamp.
b. an incandescent or fluorescent electric lamp.
4. Anatomy. any of various small, bulb-shaped structures or protuberances: olfactory bulb; bulb of urethra.
5. medulla oblongata.
6. Building Trades. a rounded thickening at the toe of an angle iron or tee.
7. Nautical. a cylindrical or spherical prominence at the forefoot of certain vessels.
8. Photography. a shutter setting in which the shutter remains open as long as the shutter release is depressed. Symbol: B

Origin:
1560–70; < L bulbus < Gk bolbós onion, bulbous plant


bulbed, adjective
bulbless, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bulb   (bŭlb)   
n.  
  1. Botany

    1. A short, modified, underground stem surrounded by usually fleshy modified leaves that contain stored food for the shoot within: an onion bulb; a tulip bulb.

    2. A similar underground stem or root, such as a corm, rhizome, or tuber.

    3. A plant that grows from a bulb.

  2. A rounded projection or part: the bulb of a syringe.

  3. An incandescent lamp or its glass housing.

  4. Anatomy A rounded dilation or expansion of a canal, vessel, or organ.


[Latin bulbus, from Greek bolbos, bulbous plant.]
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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Word Origin & History

bulb 
1568, "an onion," from M.Fr. bulbe, from L. bulbus "bulb, onion," from Gk. bolbos "plant with round swelling on underground stem." Expanded by 1800 to "swelling in a glass tube" (thermometer bulb, light bulb, etc.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: bulb
Pronunciation: 'b&lb
Function: noun
1 : a rounded dilation or expansion of something cylindrical bulb of athermometer>; especially : a rounded or pear-shaped enlargement on a small base bulb of an eyedropper>
2 : a rounded part: as a : a rounded enlargement of one end of a part —see BULB OF THE PENIS, BULB OF THE VESTIBULE, END BULB, HAIR BULB, OLFACTORY BULB b : MEDULLA OBLONGATA; broadly : the hindbrain exclusive of the cerebellum c : a thick-walledmuscular enlargement of the pharynx of certain nematode worms
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

bulb (bŭlb)
n.
A globular or fusiform anatomical structure or enlargement.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
bulb   (bŭlb)  Pronunciation Key 
A rounded underground storage organ that contains the shoot of a new plant. A bulb consists of a short stem surrounded by fleshy scales (modified leaves) that store nourishment for the new plant. Tulips, lilies, and onions grow from bulbs. Compare corm, rhizome, runner, tuber.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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