Thigmotropy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The directional growth or movement of a plant or organism in reaction to physical contact with a solid object or surface
2. A response in which a climbing plant or small animal turns or bends toward something it touches, driven by contact stimulus
3. Movement or growth shaped by touch, especially when a plant curls around a support or an animal seeks out a surface

Etymology: A climbing plant that coils around a trellis or a fence post is responding to touch, and botanists needed a precise name for that behavior. The word is built from two Ancient Greek elements: "thigma," meaning "touch," and "tropos," meaning "a turn." The second element also appears in "heliotropy," the turning of a plant toward the sun, and in "tropism" more generally. The noun names the turning or growth movement an organism makes when it is stimulated by contact. Tendrils, vine shoots, and some roots show it, and the same principle is applied to certain animals that orient themselves by touching surfaces. The "-y" ending makes it a noun for the phenomenon, while "thigmotropism" is the more common variant.