follicle

[fol-i-kuh l]

See more synonyms for follicle on Thesaurus.com

noun

Anatomy.
1. a small cavity, sac, or gland.
2. one of the small ovarian sacs containing an immature ovum; Graafian follicle.
Botany. a dry seed vessel, or pod, consisting of a single carpel, splitting at maturity only along the front part of the suture.

Origin of follicle

First recorded in 1640–50, follicle is from the Latin word folliculus small bag, shell, pod. See follis, -cle¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for follicle

hair, nerve, seam, lode, stripe, germ, egg, unit, bacterium, streak, thread, duct, current, course, stratum, venation, follicle, capillary, embryo, microorganism

Examples from the Web for follicle

Contemporary Examples of follicle

First up is John Edwards, who will show Romney how to achieve that dry-hair look while keeping every follicle in place.
Runaway Governor: The Sequel
Kathleen Parker
June 23, 2009
High levels of Follicle Stimulating Hormone knocks us out of contention, unless we go to a specialist clinic.
Nobody Loves My $20,000 Baby
Daniel Nester
December 3, 2008

Historical Examples of follicle

The follicle, which splits on one side only, through the placenta.
Field and Woodland Plants
William S. Furneaux
A hair, broken or unbroken, frequently pierces the follicle.
Scurvy Past and Present
Alfred Fabian Hess
This bursting of the follicle has not actually been observed.
Schenk's Theory: The Determination of Sex
Samuel Leopold Schenk
An ovum becomes mature, breaks through its Graafian follicle in the ovary and is set free.
Woman
William J. Robinson
This is now enlarged by the breaking down of the remaining tissue of the follicle, then of the submucosa.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II
Various

British Dictionary definitions for follicle

follicle

noun

any small sac or cavity in the body having an excretory, secretory, or protective functiona hair follicle
botany a dry fruit, formed from a single carpel, that splits along one side only to release its seeds: occurs in larkspur and columbine

Derived Formsfollicular (fɒˈlɪkjʊlə), folliculate (fɒˈlɪkjʊˌleɪt) or folliculated, adjective

Word Origin for follicle

C17: from Latin folliculus small bag, from follis pair of bellows, leather money-bag

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 follicle

early 15c., from French follicule or directly from Latin folliculus "little bag," diminutive of follis "bellows, inflated ball," from PIE *bhol-n-, suffixed form of root *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell" (see bole).

follicle in Medicine

follicle

[fŏl′ĭ-kəl]

A small bodily cavity or sac.
A crypt or minute cul-de-sac or lacuna, such as the depression in the skin from which the hair emerges.
An ovarian follicle.
A spherical mass of cells usually containing a cavity.

follicle in Science

follicle

[fŏl′ĭ-kəl]

A small, protective sac, gland, or cluster of cells in the body. In mammals, unfertilized eggs develop in follicles located in the ovaries. Hair grows from follicles in the skin.
A dry, dehiscent fruit that develops from a single carpel, has a single chamber, and splits open along only one seam to release its seeds. The pod of the milkweed and the fruit of the magnolia are follicles.