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Webster 1913 Edition

Tendril

Ten′dril

,
Noun.
[Shortened fr. OF.
tendrillon
, fr. F.
tendre
tender; hence, properly, the tender branch or spring of a plant: cf. F.
tendrille
. See
Tender
,
Adj.
, and cf.
Tendron
.]
(Bot.)
A slender, leafless portion of a plant by which it becomes attached to a supporting body, after which the tendril usually contracts by coiling spirally.
☞ Tendrils may represent the end of a stem, as in the grapevine; an axillary branch, as in the passion flower; stipules, as in the genus Smilax; or the end of a leaf, as in the pea.

Ten′dril

,
Adj.
Clasping; climbing as a tendril.
[R.]
Dyer.

Webster 1828 Edition

Tendril

TEN'DRIL

,
Noun.
A clasp or clasper of a vine or other climbing or creeping plant; a filiform spiral shoot, that winds round another body. Tendrils or claspers are given to plants that have weak stalks.
They are also given to creeping vines, which require support on the earth.

TEN'DRIL

,
Adj.
Clasping; climbing; as a tendril.

Definition 2025

tendril

tendril

English

Noun

tendril ‎(plural tendrils)

  1. (botany) A thin, spirally coiling stem that attaches a plant to its support.
  2. (zoology) A hair-like tentacle.

Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

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.)).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈtɛn.dɹəl/

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