Bulb

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈbʌlb/

Definitions

1. A rounded underground plant structure that stores nutrients and produces new growth, or the glass part of a light that glows when electricity passes through it
2. A rounded, fleshy storage organ of some plants that aids in reproduction and sustenance, or a transparent component that emits light when connected to a power source
3. A swollen, underground part of a plant that serves for energy storage and propagation or a lighting device encased in glass that illuminates when activated

Etymology: The Greek word "bolbós" originally referred to a plant with a round swelling on its underground stem, and the Romans borrowed it as "bulbus", meaning bulb or onion. That Latin form passed into Middle English as "bulbe" and "bolbe", and the spelling settled into the "bulb" we use today. The word therefore reached English through the same sequence of borrowings that brought many botanical terms into the language, carried by scholars and gardeners working from classical texts. The core idea never changed: a bulb is a compact package of stored food wrapped around a growing shoot, and the Greek name simply described that rounded underground swelling. What began as a description of one plant's anatomy became the general term for every plant that stores its future in this way, from tulips to onions.

Synonyms: lamp, lightbulb, globe