n. 1. Biology A fleshy naked outgrowth, such as a fowl's wattles. 2. Botany An outgrowth or appendage at or near the hilum of certain seeds, as of the castor-oil plant. [Obsolete French caruncule, from Latin caruncula, diminutive of carō, flesh; see sker-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] ca·runcu·lar (-kyə-lər) adj. ca·runcu·late (-lĭt, -lāt′), ca·runcu·lat′ed (-lā′tĭd) adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.