Areole

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈæɹ.i.oʊl/

Definitions

1. A small defined area or space found on a plant or animal ; a tiny, often round, structure on a cactus from which spines or flowers grow ; the ring of pigmented skin surrounding a nipple on a mammal
2. A distinct small patch or portion of tissue on living organisms ; the specific tufted area on cacti that bears spines or flowers ; the colored circular region encircling the mammary nipple
3. An identifiable small zone or spot on botanical or zoological subjects ; a specialized cushion-like part on cacti that produces spines or flowers ; the pigmented area around the nipple visible on mammals

Etymology: Latin "area" originally meant a vacant piece of level ground, such as a threshing floor or a courtyard, and its diminutive "areola" meant a little open space. The word therefore began as a plain term for a small clearing, with nothing of skin or spots in it. English borrowed the form "areole" from French "aréole", which had itself been taken from the Latin diminutive, so the word came into English by a direct route rather than inheriting it through speech over centuries. The sense of a small round spot arose later, when the Latin "areola" was applied to a small ring or circular mark, and that is the meaning English adopted. Because "areola" and "areole" both descend from the same Latin word, they are doublets: two forms of one word that entered English by different routes and took on different spellings and uses.

Synonyms: aureole, halo