Protuberance

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /pɹəʊˈtjuːbəɹəns/

Definitions

1. A projection or bulge that extends outward from a surface or body
2. A noticeable bump or swelling that emerges from a flat surface or structure
3. An outward growth or extension that prominently stands apart from its surrounding area or surface

Etymology: Latin "tūber" meant a swelling or lump, and the same word gave English "tuber," the knobby underground stem of a potato. "Prōtūberāre" combined it with "prō," meaning "forward" or "outward," so the Latin verb described something that swells or sticks out from a surface. The noun "prōtūberantia" was built from that verb, and the sense "bulge" is preserved in its earliest meaning. English took the word through French, where "protubérance" was in use before it crossed the Channel. Its literal sense, a bump standing out from a surface, has stayed almost unchanged across the centuries, which makes it one of the more transparent Latin imports in medical and anatomical writing.

Synonyms: bulge, projection, bump

Antonyms: depression, indentation