funiculus

[ fyoo-nik-yuh-luhs ]

/ fyuˈnɪk yə ləs /

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noun, plural fu·nic·u·li

[fyoo-nik-yuh-lahy]. /fyuˈnɪk yəˌlaɪ/.

Anatomy. a conducting cord, as a nerve cord or umbilical cord.

Botany. a funicle.

Entomology. (in certain insects) the portion of the antenna between the basal segments and the club.

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Origin of funiculus

1655–65; <Latin: small rope, cord, equivalent to fūni(s) rope, line + -culus-cule¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use funiculus in a sentence

When Funiculi Funiculà was over he sat on the wooden chair provided for him and wiped his face.
The Belovd Vagabond|William J. Locke
There are two funiculi, both connecting the pyloric part of the stomach with the endocyst.
Freshwater Sponges, Hydroids & Polyzoa|Nelson Annandale
Funiculi funicula Vincente y Blasco Ibanez vermicelli sul campo della gloria risotto!
The Adventures of Sally|P. G. Wodehouse
In other cases no traces of ovules are visible, but the funiculi are in a foliaceous condition.
Vegetable Teratology|Maxwell T. Masters

Moquin also alludes to a case of the same nature in Cortusa Mathioli, in which the funiculi bore little rounded leaves.
Vegetable Teratology|Maxwell T. Masters

British Dictionary definitions for funiculus

funiculus

/ (fjuːˈnɪkjʊləs) /

noun plural -li (-ˌlaɪ)

anatomy a cordlike part or structure, esp a small bundle of nerve fibres in the spinal cord

a variant of funicle

Word Origin for funiculus

C17: from Latin; see funicle

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

Scientific definitions for funiculus

funiculus

[ fyu-nĭk′yə-ləs ]

Plural funiculi (fyu-nĭk′yə-lī)

A stalk connecting an ovule or a seed with the placenta (the ovary wall). In some plants, the funiculus develops into a fleshy seed covering called an aril.

A slender, cordlike strand or band, especially a bundle of nerve fibers in a nerve trunk.

Any of three major divisions of white matter in the spinal cord.

The umbilical cord.