fol·li·cle

[fol-i-kuhl]
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; < Latin folliculus small bag, shell, pod. See follis, -cle1

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
follicle (ˈfɒlɪkəl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  any small sac or cavity in the body having an excretory, secretory, or protective function: a hair follicle
2.  botany a dry fruit, formed from a single carpel, that splits along one side only to release its seeds: occurs in larkspur and columbine
 
[C17: from Latin folliculus small bag, from follis pair of bellows, leather money-bag]
 
follicular
 
—adj
 
folliculate
 
—adj
 
fol'liculated
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Follicle is always a great word to know.
So is multicellular diploid. Does it mean:
group of mostly aquatic eukaryotic organisms which conduct photosynthesis and make their own food
organisms having pairs of homologous chromosomes
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

follicle
1640s, from L. folliculus "little bag," dim. of follis "bellows, inflated ball," from PIE *bhol-n-, suffixed form of base *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell" (see bole).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

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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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
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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Example sentences
Each of these muscles is attached to a hair follicle.
First, stem cells stored in both the epidermal and follicle reserves raced to
  the injury site to help regenerate the skin.
Only one follicle becomes dominant, however, during a cycle.
After hair grows to a particular length, it falls out and the lower part of the
  follicle is destroyed.
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