tubercle

[ too-ber-kuh l, tyoo- ]

/ ˈtu bər kəl, ˈtyu- /

noun

a small rounded projection or excrescence, as on a bone or on the surface of the body.

Pathology.

a small, firm, rounded nodule or swelling.
such a swelling as the characteristic lesion of tuberculosis.

Botany. a tuberlike swelling or nodule.

Nearby words

tubeless tyre, tubenose, tuber, tuber cinereum, tuber fern, tubercle, tubercle bacillus, tubercle of rib, tubercle of trapezium, tubercula dolorosa, tubercular

Origin of tubercle

From the Latin word tūberculum, dating back to 1570–80. See tuber¹, -cle¹

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

Examples from the Web for tubercle

The association of evidences of inflammation with the development of the tubercle is therefore unnecessary.
A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I|Various
No history of alcohol, tubercle, brain trouble, or of the arthropathies.
Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 3 (of 6)|Havelock Ellis
During recent years it has been discovered that the symptoms of phthisis and scrofula are due to a microbe, the tubercle bacillus.
Darwinism and Race Progress|John Berry Haycraft
Distance between head and tubercle greater on second rib than on first, and on third is greater than on second.
The Beaked Whales of the Family Ziphidae|Frederick True

Tubercle bacilli vary widely in their virulence, and they are more tenacious of life than the common pyogenic bacteria.
Manual of Surgery|Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles

British Dictionary definitions for tubercle

tubercle

/ (ˈtjuːbəkəl) /

noun

any small rounded nodule or elevation, esp on the skin, on a bone, or on a plant

any small rounded pathological lesion of the tissues, esp one characteristic of tuberculosis

Word Origin for tubercle

C16: from Latin tūberculum a little swelling, diminutive of tuber

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

Medicine definitions for tubercle

tubercle

[ tōō′bər-kəl ]

n.

An anatomical nodule.tuberculum

A small elevation on the surface of a tooth.

A nodule or swelling, especially a mass of lymphocytes and epithelioid cells forming the characteristic granulomatous lesion of tuberculosis.

Science definitions for tubercle

tubercle

[ tōō′bər-kəl ]

A small rounded projection, swelling, or lump, as on the roots of legumes or on bodily tissue, especially the cluster of inflammatory cells that form in the lungs in tuberculosis.