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alveolus

[al-vee-uh-luh s]
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noun, plural al·ve·o·li [al-vee-uh-lahy] /ælˈvi əˌlaɪ/.
  1. a little cavity, pit, or cell, as a cell of a honeycomb.
  2. an air cell of the lungs, formed by the terminal dilation of tiny air passageways.
  3. one of the terminal secretory units of a racemose gland.
  4. the socket within the jawbone in which the root or roots of a tooth are set.

Origin of alveolus

1700–10; < Latin, equivalent to alve(us) concave vessel + -olus -ole1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for alveolus

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Historical Examples of alveolus

British Dictionary definitions for alveolus

alveolus

noun plural -li (-ˌlaɪ)
  1. any small pit, cavity, or saclike dilation, such as a honeycomb cell
  2. any of the sockets in which the roots of the teeth are embedded
  3. any of the tiny air sacs in the lungs at the end of the bronchioles, through which oxygen is taken into the blood

Word Origin for alveolus

C18: from Latin: a little hollow, diminutive of alveus
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
Word Origin and History for alveolus
n.

1706, from Latin alveolus "a tray, trough, basin; bed of a small river," diminutive of alvus "belly, stomach, paunch, bowels; hold of a ship," from PIE *aulo- "hole, cavity" (cf. Greek aulos "tube, pipe," Old Church Slavonic uliji, Lithuanian aulys "beehive" (hollow trunk), Armenian yli "pregnant").

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
alveolus in Medicine

alveolus

[ăl-vē′ə-ləs]
n. pl. al•ve•o•li (-lī′)
  1. A small angular cavity or pit, such as a tooth socket or an air sac.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
alveolus in Science

alveolus

[ăl-vē′ə-ləs]
Plural alveoli (ăl-vē′ə-lī′)
  1. Any of the tiny air-filled sacs arranged in clusters in the lungs, in which the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. Also called air sac
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.