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
Derived 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.
The initiation of growth of the horny maxillary beak probably causes some loosening of the caruncle.
From Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz by Legler, John M.
Seed of Ricinus or Castor oil plant, with caruncle.
From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Gray, Asa
Therefore in the middle of October the internal rectus of the right eye was divided, and the conjunctiva loosened as far as the caruncle.
From Schweigger on Squint A Monograph by Dr. C. Schweigger by Schweigger, C.
In some cases, however, it has been found that after removal of a large pterygium, a retraction of the caruncle and the semilunar fold is apt to take place, which renders the eyeball unpleasantly prominent.
From A Manual of the Operations of Surgery For the Use of Senior Students, House Surgeons, and Junior Practitioners by Bell, Joseph
In one of the rails, Gallicrex cristatus, a large red caruncle is developed during this period on the head of the male.
From The Descent of Man by Darwin, Charles
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.
