caruncle

[ kar-uhng-kuhl, kuh-ruhng- ]
See synonyms for caruncle on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Botany. a protuberance at or surrounding the hilum of a seed.

  2. Zoology. a fleshy excrescence, as on the head of a bird; a fowl's comb.

  1. Anatomy. a small, fleshy growth.

Origin of caruncle

1
1605–15; earlier caruncula<Latin: small piece of flesh, diminutive of carō (genitive carnis) flesh; for suffix, see carbuncle

Other words from caruncle

  • ca·run·cu·lar [kuh-ruhng-kyuh-ler], /kəˈrʌŋ kyə lər/, ca·run·cu·lous, adjective

Words Nearby caruncle

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How to use caruncle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for caruncle

caruncle

/ (ˈkærəŋkəl, kəˈrʌŋ-) /


noun
  1. a fleshy outgrowth on the heads of certain birds, such as a cock's comb

  2. an outgrowth near the hilum on the seeds of some plants

  1. any small fleshy mass in or on the body, either natural or abnormal

Origin of caruncle

1
C17: from obsolete French caruncule, from Latin caruncula a small piece of flesh, from carō flesh

Derived forms of caruncle

  • caruncular (kəˈrʌŋkjʊlə) or carunculous, adjective
  • carunculate (kəˈrʌŋkjʊlɪt, -ˌleɪt) or carunculated, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012