cartilage

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   firm, flexible connective tissue found in joints and in structures such as the nose and outer ear

   The surgeon found that the cartilage in her knee had been damaged.

2. 2
   noun

   a particular piece or structure made of this tissue

   A small cartilage in the larynx helps protect the airway during swallowing.

Borrowed through French cartilage from Latin cartilago, meaning cartilage or gristle. It partly displaced the native English word gristle, which remains an informal synonym.

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