tendril

[ten-dril]

See more synonyms for tendril on Thesaurus.com

noun Botany.

a threadlike, leafless organ of climbing plants, often growing in spiral form, which attaches itself to or twines round some other body, so as to support the plant.

Origin of tendril

1530–40; earlier tendrel, variant (perhaps by dissimilation) of Middle English tendren, tendron < Middle French tendron shoot, sprout, cartilage

Related formsten·dril·lar, ten·dril·ous, adjectiveten·dril·ly, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for tendril

clasp, coil, curl, ringlet, cirrus

Examples from the Web for tendril

Contemporary Examples of tendril

One woman is focused intently on wrapping and unwrapping a tendril of hair around her finger.
If Porn Isn’t Art, Does It Still Have a Right to Exist?
Michael Stabile
May 2, 2012

Historical Examples of tendril

Yes, she was my girl, devoted to me, attached to me by every tendril of her being.
The Trail of '98
Robert W. Service
Phototropic response of the tendril of Passiflora: Experiment 145.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919
Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
He plucks the tendril from a vine, smells it, and puts it in his mouth.
Gorillas & Chimpanzees
R. L. Garner
Grapevines climbed the posts and tendril shadows were on the ground beneath.
Mr. Achilles
Jennette Lee
Ah, never: but as you leave the garden—pluck one tendril from the vine.
The King of Alsander
James Elroy Flecker

British Dictionary definitions for tendril

tendril

noun

a specialized threadlike part of a leaf or stem that attaches climbing plants to a support by twining or adhering
something resembling a tendril, such as a wisp of hair

Derived Formstendrillar or tendrilous, adjective

Word Origin for tendril

C16: perhaps from Old French tendron tendril (confused with Old French tendron bud), from Medieval Latin tendō tendon

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

Word Origin and History for tendril

1530s, from Middle French tendrillon "bud, shoot, cartilage," perhaps a diminutive of tendron "cartilage," from Old French tendre "soft" (see tender (adj.)), or else from Latin tendere "to stretch, extend" (see tender (v.)).

tendril in Science

tendril

[tĕn′drəl]

A slender, coiling plant part, often a modified leaf or leaf part, that helps support the stem of some climbing angiosperms by clinging to or winding around an object. Peas, squash, and grapes produce tendrils.