caruncle

C2 Topic:The Human Body

US /ˈkærəŋkəl/ UK /ˈkærəŋkəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #546585

Meanings

1

noun
a small fleshy outgrowth forming a normal part of an animal, such as a bird's wattle or a growth near the eye

The male bird's red caruncle enlarged and brightened during courtship.
2

noun
the small pink prominence at the inner corner of the human eye

A tear collected beside the lacrimal caruncle.
3

noun
botany: a fleshy seed appendage, often rich in oil and attractive to ants

An ant carried the seed away by gripping its pale caruncle.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a small fleshy outgrowth... carunculafleshy outgrowth

2 noun · the small pink prominence... lacrimal caruncle

3 noun · botany: a fleshy seed... elaiosome

Word family

Forms caruncles

Derived forms caruncularcarunculate

Related forms wattlelacrimal caruncledewlap seed

Etymology

Borrowed through French caruncule from Latin caruncula ("a small piece of flesh"), a diminutive of caro ("flesh"). Zoology, anatomy, and botany use the word for small fleshy-looking projections.

Topics

The Human Body

External links

# caruncle

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkærəŋkəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkærəŋkəl/
**Frequency rank:** 546585

## Meanings
1. a small fleshy outgrowth forming a normal part of an animal, such as a bird's wattle or a growth near the eye
2. the small pink prominence at the inner corner of the human eye
3. botany: a fleshy seed appendage, often rich in oil and attractive to ants

## Examples
- The male bird's red caruncle enlarged and brightened during courtship.
- A tear collected beside the lacrimal caruncle.
- An ant carried the seed away by gripping its pale caruncle.

## Synonyms
- caruncula
- fleshy outgrowth
- elaiosome

## Derived Forms
- caruncular
- carunculate

## Related Forms
- wattle
- lacrimal caruncle
- dewlap
- seed

## Etymology
Borrowed through French caruncule from Latin caruncula ("a small piece of flesh"), a diminutive of caro ("flesh"). Zoology, anatomy, and botany use the word for small fleshy-looking projections.

## Topics
- The Human Body

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