tentacle

[ten-tuh-kuh l]

noun

Zoology. any of various slender, flexible processes or appendages in animals, especially invertebrates, that serve as organs of touch, prehension, etc.; feeler.

Botany. a sensitive filament or process, as one of the glandular hairs of the sundew.

Origin of tentacle

1755–65; < New Latin tentāculum, equivalent to Latin tentā(re) (variant of temptāre to feel, probe) + -culum -cule²

Related formsten·tac·u·lar

[ten-tak-yuh-ler] /tɛnˈtæk yə lər/, adjectiveten·ta·cle·like, ten·tac·u·loid, adjectivein·ter·ten·tac·u·lar, adjectivesub·ten·tac·u·lar, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tentacular

Contemporary Examples of tentacular

Initial charges against Sarkozy in that tentacular Bettencourt case had been dropped.
France’s Ex-Prez Sarkozy Placed Under Formal Investigation for Corruption
Tracy McNicoll
July 2, 2014
I spent years writing a novel in which three characters get pulled into an elaborate and tentacular conspiracy.
Amazon’s Fight With Hachette Strands An Author In The Crossfire
David Shafer
June 8, 2014
But even paranoid melodramatic self-aggrandizers sniff out nefarious and tentacular plots from time to time.
Amazon’s Fight With Hachette Strands An Author In The Crossfire
David Shafer
June 8, 2014

Historical Examples of tentacular

Tentacular -um: retractile processes on the larvae of Lepidoptera.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology
John. B. Smith
Small or large, rigid or flexible; joined or tentacular—all one.
Triplanetary
Edward Elmer Smith
They consist of tentacular organs placed in grooves on the under surface of the disc.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume III (of 4)
Francis Maitland Balfour
The rate of transmission of tentacular waves is only one-half that of contraction-waves, viz.
Jellyfish, Starfish, and Sea-Urchins: Being a Research on Primitive Nervous Systems
G. J. Romanes
Muscular irritability remains after tentacular irritability has disappeared, but it is then decidedly enfeebled.
Jellyfish, Starfish, and Sea-Urchins: Being a Research on Primitive Nervous Systems
G. J. Romanes

British Dictionary definitions for tentacular

tentacle

noun

any of various elongated flexible organs that occur near the mouth in many invertebrates and are used for feeding, grasping, etc

any of the hairs on the leaf of an insectivorous plant that are used to capture prey

something resembling a tentacle, esp in its ability to reach out or grasp

Derived Formstentacled, adjectivetentacle-like or tentaculoid (tɛnˈtækjʊˌlɔɪd), adjectivetentacular (tɛnˈtækjʊlə), adjective

Word Origin for tentacle

C18: from New Latin tentāculum, from Latin tentāre, variant of temptāre to feel

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 tentacular

tentacle

1762, from Modern Latin tentaculum "feeler," from Latin tentare "to feel, try" (variant of temptare "to feel, try, test") + -culum, diminutive suffix.

tentacular in Medicine

tentacle

[tĕn′tə-kəl]

n.

An elongated, flexible, unsegmented extension, as one of those surrounding the mouth or oral cavity of the squid, used for feeling, grasping, or locomotion.

tentacular in Science

tentacle

[tĕn′tə-kəl]

A narrow, flexible, unjointed part extending from the body of certain animals, such as an octopus, jellyfish, or sea anemone. Tentacles are used for feeling, grasping, or moving.