follicle
[fol-i-kuh l]
- Anatomy.
- a small cavity, sac, or gland.
- 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.
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Origin of follicle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
hair, nerve, seam, lode, stripe, germ, egg, unit, bacterium, streak, thread, duct, current, course, stratum, venation, follicle, capillary, embryo, microorganismExamples from the Web for follicle
Contemporary Examples
First up is John Edwards, who will show Romney how to achieve that dry-hair look while keeping every follicle in place.
High levels of Follicle Stimulating Hormone knocks us out of contention, unless we go to a specialist clinic.
Historical Examples
The follicle, which splits on one side only, through the placenta.
Field and Woodland PlantsWilliam S. Furneaux
A hair, broken or unbroken, frequently pierces the follicle.
Scurvy Past and PresentAlfred Fabian Hess
This bursting of the follicle has not actually been observed.
Schenk's Theory: The Determination of SexSamuel Leopold Schenk
An ovum becomes mature, breaks through its Graafian follicle in the ovary and is set free.
WomanWilliam J. Robinson
This is now enlarged by the breaking down of the remaining tissue of the follicle, then of the submucosa.
follicle
- 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
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Word Origin
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
n.
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).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.