Canaliculuses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Tiny grooves or furrows running through biological structures such as bone or tissue
2. Minute channels or ridges that form naturally in anatomical formations like bone
3. Small tubular passages or linear depressions found in skeletal and other dense tissues

Etymology: Canaliculuses is the English plural of canaliculus, a Latin noun meaning "little channel" or "small pipe." It is a diminutive of "canalis," meaning channel or groove, so the whole word is literally "a little canal." Classical Latin forms the plural as "canaliculi," which is the form anatomists and botanists usually use. The "-uses" ending is English regularization. Speakers treat the "-us" noun as an ordinary English noun and add the familiar "-es," as in "bonuses." That is why the form exists alongside the Latin plural, though it is far less common in technical writing.