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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.


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

"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

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.


Etymology

Origin of radicle

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


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.

See Examples For:

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

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

But instead of having just one root, most plants have millions of individual roots, each with a single radicle.

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

Embryo straightish, with a short radicle, and thin longitudinally plaited cotyledons.—Shrubs or small trees, with large and showy white flowers on axillary peduncles.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Asa Gray

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