follicle

(fäli kəl)

noun

  1. Anat.
    1. any small sac, cavity, or gland for excretion or secretion: a hair follicle
    2. Obsolete a lymph nodule
  2. Bot. a dry seed pod with a single cavity, that splits open along only one seam to release its seeds, as a milkweed pod

Origin: ModL folliculus < L, a small bag, husk, pod, dim. of follis, bellows < IE base *bhel-, to blow up, swell > ball, bull

Related Forms:

See follicle in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. Anatomy
    a. A small bodily cavity or sac.
    b. A crypt or minute cul-de-sac or lacuna, such as the depression in the skin from which the hair emerges.
    c. An ovarian follicle.
    d. 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.

Origin:

Origin: Latin folliculus, little bag

Origin: , diminutive of follis, bellows; see bhel-2 in Indo-European roots

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