gemmule

== English == === Etymology === Borrowed from French gemmule, from Latin gemmula (“small bud; small gem”), from gemma (“bud of a plant; gem, jewel; thing made of precious stones”) (further etymology uncertain; possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget, give birth; to produce”), but see further at that entry) + -ula (feminine form of -ulus (diminutive suffix)). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛmjuːl/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛˌm(j)ul/ Hyphenation: gem‧mule === Noun === gemmule (plural gemmules) (biology) (archaic) Synonym of gemma (“an asexual reproductive structure, as found in animals such as hydra (genus Hydra) and plants such as liverworts (division Marchantiophyta), consisting of a cluster of cells from which a new individual can develop”) (specifically, zoology) A small gemma or bud of dormant embryonic cells produced by some freshwater sponges (phylum Porifera) that develops into a new sponge. (historical) In the obsolete theory of pangenesis propounded by the English scientist Charles Darwin (1809–1882): a hypothetical particle once thought to be the basis of heredity. (botany) Synonym of plumule (“the first bud, or growing point, of a plant embryo, situated above the cotyledons”). (neurology) Synonym of dendritic spine (“a small membranous protrusion from the dendrite of a neuron that typically receives input from a single axon at the synapse”). ==== Usage notes ==== Sense 1.1 (“synonym of gemma”) is archaic; gemma appears to be the preferred modern term. However, gemmule continues to be used for sense 1.1.1 (“small gemma or bud of dormant embryonic cells produced by some freshwater sponges that develops into a new sponge”). ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === gemmule on Wikipedia.Wikipedia pangenesis on Wikipedia.Wikipedia == French == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin gemmula (“small bud; small gem”), from gemma (“bud of a plant; gem, jewel; thing made of precious stones”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ʒɛ.myl/ ~ /ʒe.myl/ Hyphenation: gem‧mule === Noun === gemmule f (plural gemmules) gemmule ==== Descendants ==== → English: gemmule === Further reading === “gemmule”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012