caruncle
Americannoun
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Botany. a protuberance at or surrounding the hilum of a seed.
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Zoology. a fleshy excrescence, as on the head of a bird; a fowl's comb.
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Anatomy. a small, fleshy growth.
noun
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a fleshy outgrowth on the heads of certain birds, such as a cock's comb
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an outgrowth near the hilum on the seeds of some plants
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any small fleshy mass in or on the body, either natural or abnormal
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of caruncle
1605–15; earlier caruncula < Latin: small piece of flesh, diminutive of carō (genitive carnis ) flesh; for suffix, see carbuncle
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Every portrait depicts a pale woman with a sharp nose, bow lips, slightly receding chin, and dark eyes with a pink lacrimal caruncle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
A paleness and want of liveliness of the membranes, generally, may be considered as the first symptoms, to which may be added a yellowness of the caruncle at the corner of the eye.
From Sheep, Swine, and Poultry Embracing the History and Varieties of Each; The Best Modes of Breeding; Their Feeding and Management; Together with etc. by Robert Jennings
Few individuals retained the caruncle when they entered hibernation late in November, and none retained it upon emergence from hibernation.
From Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz by John M. Legler
The seeds cannot be carried so well unless this ridge, caruncle, be present.
From Seed Dispersal by W. J. (William James) Beal
A distinct boss will remain on the maxillary beak after the caruncle is shed.
From Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz by John M. Legler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
