 |
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Bulb \Bulb\ (b[u^]lb), noun [L. bulbus, Gr. bolbo's: cf. F. bulbe.]
1. (Bot.) 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.) 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.
3. a {light bulb}.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Bulb \Bulb\, verb (used without an object) To take the shape of a bulb; to swell.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
bulb
noun
1: a modified bud consisting of a thickened globular underground stem serving as a reproductive structure
2: electric lamp consisting of a glass bulb containing a wire filament (usually tungsten) that emits light when heated [syn: {light bulb}, {lightbulb}, {incandescent lamp}, {electric light}, {electric-light bulb}]
3: a rounded part of a cylindrical instrument (usually at one end); "the bulb of a syringe"
4: lower or hindmost part of the brain; continuous with spinal cord; ('bulb' is an old term for medulla oblongata); "the medulla oblongata is the most vital part of the brain because it contains centers controlling breathing and heart functioning" [syn: {medulla oblongata}, {medulla}]
5: a rounded dilation or expansion in a canal or vessel or organ
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
96 Moby Thesaurus words for "bulb": ball, balloon, bilge, bladder, blain, bleb, blister, blob, boll, bolus, boss, bow, bubble, bulbil, bulblet, bulge, bulla, bump, bunch, burl, button, cahot, chine, clump, condyle, convex, corm, dowel, ear, ellipsoid, flange, flap, gall, geoid, globe, globelet, globoid, globule, glomerulus, gnarl, gob, gobbet, handle, hill, hump, hunch, jog, joggle, knob, knot, knur, knurl, lip, loop, lump, mole, mountain, nevus, nub, nubbin, nubble, oblate spheroid, orb, orbit, orblet, papilloma, peg, pellet, prolate spheroid, radicle, radix, rhizome, rib, ridge, ring, rondure, root, rootstock, shoulder, sphere, spheroid, spherule, spine, stud, style, tab, tap, taproot, tuber, tubercle, tubercule, verruca, vesicle, wale, wart, welt
 |
Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |