bulb

 
Pronunciation: /bʌlb/

noun

  • 1a rounded underground storage organ present in some plants, notably those of the lily family, consisting of a short stem surrounded by fleshy scale leaves or leaf bases, lying dormant over winter. Compare with corm, rhizome.
  • a plant grown from a bulb.
  • 3an expanded part of a glass tube such as that forming the reservoir of a thermometer.
  • a hollow flexible container with an opening through which the air can be expelled by squeezing, such as that used to fill a syringe.
  • a spheroidal dilated part at the end of an anatomical structure.

Origin:

late Middle English: via Latin from Greek bolbos 'onion, bulbous root'