papilla

American  

[puh-pil-uh] / pəˈpɪl ə /

noun

plural

papillae

1. any small, nipplelike process or projection.

2. one of certain small protuberances concerned with the senses of touch, taste, and smell.

   the papillae of the tongue.

3. a small vascular process at the root of a hair.

4. a papule or pimple.

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papilla British  

/ pəˈpɪlə /

noun

1. the small projection of tissue at the base of a hair, tooth, or feather

2. any other similar protuberance

3. any minute blunt hair or process occurring in plants

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papilla Scientific  

/ pə-pĭl′ə /

plural

papillae

1. A small part projecting from the surface of an organism. In mammals, the nipples of the mammary glands and the taste buds of the tongue are papillae. Papillae are often seen on the undersurfaces of mosses and ferns.

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Other Word Forms

• papillar adjective
• papillary adjective

Etymology

Origin of papilla

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin: nipple, teat, diminutive of papula pimple. See pap ²

Example Sentences

Remarkably, the papillae were also found to be distinctive across all fifteen subjects and individuals could be identified with an accuracy of 48 per cent from a single papilla.

From Science Daily • Dec. 14, 2023

The number of muscles and nerves in each papilla is roughly the equivalent to what is in each human finger, Dr. Wardill estimates.

From New York Times • Jul. 9, 2021

Scientists do not fully understand its efficacy but the working theory is that minoxidil protects the dermal papilla from DHT.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 7, 2018

The cause of death was duodenal papilla cancer.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 1, 2017

Pileus thin, conical or campanulate, subacute, rarely with a minute papilla at the apex, smooth, of a peculiar soft, ochraceous color, slightly tinged with salmon or flesh color.

From The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Its Habitat and its Time of Growth by Hard, Miron Elisha