radicle

American  

[rad-i-kuhl] / ˈræd ɪ kəl /

noun

1. Botany.

   1. the lower part of the axis of an embryo; the primary root.

   2. a rudimentary root; radicel or rootlet.

2. Chemistry. (formerly) radical.

3. Anatomy. a small rootlike part or structure, as the beginning of a nerve or vein.

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radicle British  

/ ˈrædɪkəl /

noun

1. botany

   1. part of the embryo of seed-bearing plants that develops into the main root

   2. a very small root or rootlike part

2. anatomy any bodily structure resembling a rootlet, esp one of the smallest branches of a vein or nerve

3. chem a variant spelling of radical

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radicle Scientific  

/ răd′ĭ-kəl /

1. The part of a plant embryo that develops into a root. In most seeds, the radicle is the first structure to emerge on germination.

2. A small anatomical structure, such as a fibril of a nerve, that resembles a root.

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Etymology

Origin of radicle

1665–75; < Latin rādīcula small root, equivalent to rādīc- (stem of rādīx ) root ¹ + -ula -ule

Example Sentences

When the plant embryo emerges from the seed, the radicle of the embryo forms the root system.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Moreover, Darwin – who studied plants meticulously for most of his life, observed that the radicle – the root tip – “acts like the brain of one of the lower animals.”

From The Guardian • Aug. 4, 2015

Mancuso has found rising evidence that the key to plant intelligence is in the radicle or root apex.

From The Guardian • Aug. 4, 2015

The zygote develops into an embryo with a radicle, or small root, and one or two leaf-like organs called cotyledons.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

The reader will not fail to observe how essentially atomic is this conception of compound radicle.

From Heroes of Science Chemists by Muir, M. M. Pattison (Matthew Moncrieff Pattison)

Related Words

• essence
• foundation
• heart
• origin
• seed
• soul
• source
• stem
• stuff