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siphuncle

 - 2 dictionary results

si⋅phun⋅cle

  [sahy-fuhng-kuhl]
Use siphuncle in a Sentence
–noun
1. (in a nautilus) the connecting tube that passes from the end of the body through all of the septa to the innermost chamber.
2. Entomology. an aphid cornicle.
Origin:
1895–1900; < L sīp(h)unculus small tube through which water is forced, equiv. to sīp(h)ōn-, s. of sīp(h)ō siphon + -culus -cule 1 (see carbuncle )

Related forms:
si⋅phun⋅cu⋅lar, si⋅phun⋅cu⋅late  [sahy-fuhng-kyuh-lit] , si⋅phun⋅cu⋅lat⋅ed  [sahy-fuhng-kyuh-ley-tid] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To siphuncle
si·phun·cle   (sī'fŭng'kəl)   
n.  

  1. A tubelike structure in the body of a shelled cephalopod, such as a nautilus, extending through each chamber of the shell.

  2. A tubular organ on the abdomen of an aphid, from which a waxy fluid is secreted as a pheromone when the insect is attacked. Also called cornicle.


[Latin sīphunculus, diminutive of sīphō, sīphōn-, siphon; see siphon.]
si·phun'cu·lar (-kyə-lər), si·phun'cu·late (-lĭt) adj.
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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