Etymology : Latin bulbus, from Greek bolbos bulbous plant
Pronunciation : b&lb
Function : noun
Date : circa 1601
1. light bulb, lamp; tuber, glomus. bulb\bulb\ (bŭlb), n. [l. bulbus, gr. bolbo`s: cf. f. bulbe.].
2. (bot.) a spheroidal body growing from a plant either above or below the ground (usually below), which is strictly a bud, consisting of a cluster of partially developed leaves, and producing, as it grows, a stem above, and roots below, as in the onion, tulip, etc. it differs from a corm in not being solid.
3. (anat.) a name given to some parts that resemble in shape certain bulbous roots; as, the bulb of the aorta.bulb of the eye, the eyeball.bulb of a hair, the "root," or part whence the hair originates.bulb of the spinal cord, the medulla oblongata, often called simply bulb.bulb of a tooth, the vascular and nervous papilla contained in the cavity of the tooth.
4. an expansion or protuberance on a stem or tube, as the bulb of a thermometer, which may be of any form, as spherical, cylindrical, curved, etc. on.bulb \bulb\, v. i. to take the shape of a bulb; to swell.
5. A spheroidal body growing from a plant either above or below the ground , which is strictly a bud, consisting of a cluster of partially developed leaves, and producing, as it grows, a stem above, and roots below, as in the onion, tulip, etc.
6. It differs from a corm in not being solid.
7. A name given to some parts that resemble in shape certain bulbous roots; as, the bulb of the aorta.
8. An expansion or protuberance on a stem or tube, as the bulb of a thermometer, which may be of any form, as spherical, cylindrical, curved, etc.
9. To take the shape of a bulb; to swell. a rounded part of a cylindrical instrument ; "the bulb of a syringe" a rounded dilation or expansion in a canal or vessel or organ a modified bud consisting of a thickened globular underground stem serving as a reproductive structure.
10. 1. A bulb is the glass part of an electric lamp, which gives out light when electricity passes through it. The stairwell was lit by a single bulb. = light bulb.
11. A bulb is a root shaped like an onion that grows into a flower or plant. tulip bulbs. In botany, the resting stage of certain seed plants, particularly perennial monocotyledons (see:
cotyledon), consisting of a relatively large, usually globe-shaped, underground bud with membranous or fleshy overlapping leaves arising from a short stem. The fleshy leaves function as food reserves that enable a plant to lie dormant when water is unavailable (during winter or drought) and to resume active growth when favourable conditions again prevail. There are two main types of bulbs. One, typified by the onion, has a thin papery covering protecting its fleshy leaves. The other, the scaly bulb, as seen in true lilies, has naked storage leaves, with no papery covering, making the bulb appear to consist of angular scales. Bulbs enable many common ornamentals, such as the narcissus, tulip, and hyacinth, to flower rapidly in early spring when growing conditions are favourable. Other bulb-producing plants bloom in the summer (e.g., lilies) or fall (e.g., the autumn crocus). The solid corms of the crocus and gladiolus and the elongated rhizomes of some irises are not bulbs.