Pedicle

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpɛd.ɪ.kəl/

Definitions

1. A slender attachment or stem that links a specific structure to its body, often found in anatomical and botanical contexts
2. A supportive and narrow connection that serves to join one biological entity to another, commonly seen in various organisms
3. A thin stalk-like structure that connects a part of an organism to the main body or another organ

Etymology: Latin "pediculus" meant "little foot," a diminutive of "pes," the ordinary Latin word for foot. The same root gave Latin "pediculus" a second, far less dignified sense: "louse." Lice were named for their tiny legs, so the Romans let a little foot double as a small biting insect. English kept the foot-meaning in its own form, "pedicle," which is the Latin diminutive taken over without the insect. In the word's modern use, a pedicle is the slender stalk that holds something up or out from a larger body. Anatomists apply it to the short bony stalks that join parts of a vertebra, and botanists apply it to the thin stem that attaches a leaf, fruit, or flower to the plant. The image is consistent throughout: a small foot that carries a structure and connects it to the body it grows from.

Synonyms: stalk, stem, support