Main Entry:

ten·dril

Pronunciation:

\ˈten-drəl\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

probably modification of Middle French tendron bud, cartilage, alteration of Old French tenrum, from Vulgar Latin *tenerumen, from Latin tener tender — more at tender

Date:

1538

1 : a leaf, stipule, or stem modified into a slender spirally coiling sensitive organ serving to attach a climbing plant to its support 2 : something suggestive of a tendril <creeping tendrils of fog>

— ten·driled or ten·drilled \-drəld\ adjective

— ten·dril·ous \-drə-ləs\ adjective

[tendril illustration]