alveolus

[al-vee-uh-luh s]

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noun, plural al·ve·o·li [al-vee-uh-lahy] /ælˈvi əˌlaɪ/.

a little cavity, pit, or cell, as a cell of a honeycomb.

an air cell of the lungs, formed by the terminal dilation of tiny air passageways.

one of the terminal secretory units of a racemose gland.

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. 2019

Related Words for alveolus

sweetheart, nectar, sweet, dear, darling, flattery, deary, dearie, bronchi, pleura, precious, halvah

Examples from the Web for alveolus

Historical Examples of alveolus

The teeth all are present and entire except that p2 on the right side is missing from its alveolus.
American Weasels
E. Raymond Hall
The tooth should be pulled out straight, lest the alveolus be broken.
Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times
John Stewart Milne
The margins of the cleft in the lip are also attached to the alveolus by firm reflections of the mucous membrane.
Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities--Head--Neck. Sixth Edition.
Alexander Miles
Limited portions of the alveolus are frequently broken in the extraction of teeth.
Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities--Head--Neck. Sixth Edition.
Alexander Miles
The inflammation begins close to the alveolus, and may spread back along the palate.
Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities--Head--Neck. Sixth Edition.
Alexander Miles

British Dictionary definitions for alveolus

alveolus

noun plural -li (-ˌlaɪ)

any small pit, cavity, or saclike dilation, such as a honeycomb cell

any of the sockets in which the roots of the teeth are embedded

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

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").

alveolus in Medicine

alveolus

[ăl-vē′ə-ləs]

n. pl. al•ve•o•li (-lī′)

A small angular cavity or pit, such as a tooth socket or an air sac.

alveolus in Science

alveolus

[ăl-vē′ə-ləs]

Plural alveoli (ăl-vē′ə-lī′)

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