radicle
Americannoun
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Botany.
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the lower part of the axis of an embryo; the primary root.
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a rudimentary root; radicel or rootlet.
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Chemistry. (formerly) radical.
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Anatomy. a small rootlike part or structure, as the beginning of a nerve or vein.
noun
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botany
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part of the embryo of seed-bearing plants that develops into the main root
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a very small root or rootlike part
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anatomy any bodily structure resembling a rootlet, esp one of the smallest branches of a vein or nerve
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chem a variant spelling of radical
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The part of a plant embryo that develops into a root. In most seeds, the radicle is the first structure to emerge on germination.
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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.
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
Darwin found, moreover, by experiment, that, when the tip of a radicle is burnt or cut, "it transmits an influence to the upper adjoining part, causing it to bend away from the affected side."
From A Review of the Systems of Ethics Founded on the Theory of Evolution by C. M. Williams
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