BULB

bulb

(noun) a rounded part of a cylindrical instrument (usually at one end); “the bulb of a syringe”

bulb

(noun) a rounded dilation or expansion in a canal or vessel or organ

bulb

(noun) a modified bud consisting of a thickened globular underground stem serving as a reproductive structure

bulb

(noun) anything with a round shape resembling a teardrop

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

bulb (plural bulbs)

Any solid object rounded at one end and tapering on the other, possibly attached to a larger object at the tapered end.

A light bulb.

The bulb-shaped root portion of a plant such as a tulip, from which the rest of the plant may be regrown.

(nautical) a bulbous protuberance at the forefoot of certain vessels to reduce turbulence.

(dated, neuroanatomy) The medulla oblongata.

Verb

bulb (third-person singular simple present bulbs, present participle bulbing, simple past and past participle bulbed)

(intransitive) To take the shape of a bulb; to swell.

Anagrams

• blub

Source: Wiktionary

Bulb, n. Etym: [L. bulbus, Gr. bulbe.]

1. (Bot.)

Definition: A spheroidal body growing from a plant either above or below the ground (usually below), which is strictly a bud, consisting of a cluster of partially developed leaves, and producing, as it grows, a stem above, and roots below, as in the onion, tulip, etc. It differs from a corm in not being solid.

2. (Anat.)

Definition: A name given to some parts that resemble in shape certain bulbous roots; as, the bulb of the aorta. Bulb of the eye, the eyeball.

– Bulb of a hair, the "root," or part whence the hair originates.

– Bulb of the spinal cord, the medulla oblongata, often called simply bulb.

– Bulb of a tooth, the vascular and nervous papilla contained in the cavity of the tooth.

3. An expansion or protuberance on a stem or tube, as the bulb of a thermometer, which may be of any form, as spherical, cylindrical, curved, etc. Tomlinson.

Bulb, v. i.

Definition: To take the shape of a bulb; to swell.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition