caruncle

n.

1. Biology. A fleshy naked outgrowth, such as a fowl's wattles.
2. Botany. An outgrowth or appendage at or near the hilum of certain seeds, as of the castor-oil plant.

[Obsolete French caruncule, from Latin caruncula, diminutive of carō, flesh.]

caruncular ca·run'cu·lar (-kyə-lər) adj.
carunculate ca·run'cu·late (-lĭt, -lāt') or ca·run'cu·lat'ed (-lā'tĭd) adj.

(KAR-ung-kuhl)

noun
A fleshy growth, such as a rooster's comb.

Etymology
From Latin caruncula (small piece of flesh), diminutive of caro (flesh). Ultimately from the Indo-European root sker- (to cut) that is also the source of skirt, curt, screw, shard, shears, carnage, carnivorous, carnation, sharp, and scrape

Usage
"Some turkeys feint, some scream, some just shake their caruncles." — Barry Janoff; Why Turkeys Use Fowl Language; Brandweek (New York); Apr 4, 2005.

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(kə-rŭng'kəl, kăr'ŭng'-)
n.

A fleshy, naked outgrowth.

A small fleshy eminence, often abnormal.

• hymenal c's — small elevations of mucous membrane around the vaginal opening, being relics of the ruptured hymen, especially of women.
• lacrimal c. — the eminence at the medial angle of the eye.
• maternal c. — see uterine caruncle (below).
• sublingual c. — an eminence on either side of the frenulum of the tongue (frenulum linguae), on which the major duct of the sublingual gland and the duct of the submandibular gland open.
• uterine c. — fleshy masses on the wall of the uterus of pregnant ruminants. The placenta is attached only at these points. There are about 100 of them and they are very much smaller in the nonpregnant female.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: an outgrowth on a plant or animal such as a fowl's wattle or a protuberance near the hilum of certain seeds
  Synonym: caruncula

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