Aglandular

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterizing tissue or organs that lack the presence of glands or glandular cells
2. Describing a structure that does not produce or secrete substances typical of glands
3. Referring to biological entities that do not have glandular functionality or structure

Etymology: "Aglandular" is built from the prefix "a-", meaning "without", attached to "glandular," the adjective for anything relating to glands. The prefix comes from Greek "a-" (or "an-" before vowels), the negating element found in words like "atheist" and "anaerobic," which lets scientists turn a descriptive term into its opposite with a single added syllable. "Glandular" itself comes from "gland," borrowed from Latin "glans," meaning "acorn," since the swollen, rounded shape of a gland was thought to resemble an acorn. Anatomists took the idea from there and applied it to the organs that secrete fluids into the body or onto its surfaces. The word is a plainly technical formation, built on the spot from parts that were already in use, so its history is short and transparent. Its meaning follows directly from its parts: a tissue or animal described as having no glands at all.