Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tendril

/ˈtɛn.dɹəl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.03 in modern English

Syllables: ten-dril
IPA: /ˈtɛn.dɹəl/

8

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A thin, spirally coiling stem that attaches a plant to its support.

noun

A hair-like tentacle.

noun

Anything shaped like a tendril or coil.

adj

Having the shape or properties of a tendril; thin and coiling; entwining.

Example Sentences

"The Gourd, / And thirſty Cucumer, vvhen they perceive / Th' approaching Olive, vvith Reſentment fly / Her fatty Fibres, and vvith Tendrils creep / Diverſe, deteſting Contact; […]"
"Her blond hair was tied into a half up, half down style with face-framing tendrils."
"Kissing the tendril fingers - at first because Mina, its mother, did not - but later with a rapture begot by its breath on her breast."

Etymology

From Middle French tendrillon (“bud, shoot, cartilage”), perhaps a diminutive of tendron (“cartilage”), from Old French tendre (“soft”) (see tender (adjective)), or else from Latin tendere (“to stretch, extend”) (see tender (verb)).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: tendere

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Medicine.

Inflected Forms

tendrils (plural)

Derived Forms

tendrillar tendrilled tendrilless tendrillous tendrilly tendrilous

Phrases

tendril perversion

Synonyms

cirrus

Questions

How do you pronounce tendril?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɛn.dɹəl/.
What does tendril mean?: A thin, spirally coiling stem that attaches a plant to its support.
Where does tendril come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce tendril

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tendril”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈtɛn.dɹəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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