tenacle

English

Etymology

From Latin tenaculum, from tenere (to hold).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈtɛnəkəl/

Noun

tenacle (plural tenacles)

  1. (rare) A stalk or shoot by which a plant holds itself up, or by which climbing plants attach themselves to surfaces.
    • 1658, Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, Folio Society, published 2007, page 198:
      And Ivy divided from the root, we have observed to live some years, by the cirrous parts commonly conceived but as tenacles and holdfasts unto it.

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