Bulb

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Bulb \Bulb\ (b[u^]lb), n. [L. bulbus, Gr. bolbo`s: cf. F.
     bulbe.]
     1. (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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Anat.) A name given to some parts that resemble in shape
        certain bulbous roots; as, the bulb of the aorta.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. 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. --Tomlinson.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. a {light bulb}.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Bulb \Bulb\, v. i.
     To take the shape of a bulb; to swell.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  bulb
       n 1: a modified bud consisting of a thickened globular
            underground stem serving as a reproductive structure
       2: electric lamp consisting of a glass bulb containing a wire
          filament (usually tungsten) that emits light when heated
          [syn: {light bulb}, {lightbulb}, {incandescent lamp}, {electric
          light}, {electric-light bulb}]
       3: a rounded part of a cylindrical instrument (usually at one
          end); "the bulb of a syringe"
       4: lower or hindmost part of the brain; continuous with spinal
          cord; (`bulb' is an old term for medulla oblongata); "the
          medulla oblongata is the most vital part of the brain
          because it contains centers controlling breathing and
          heart functioning" [syn: {medulla oblongata}, {medulla}]
       5: a rounded dilation or expansion in a canal or vessel or
          organ

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  96 Moby Thesaurus words for "bulb":
     ball, balloon, bilge, bladder, blain, bleb, blister, blob, boll,
     bolus, boss, bow, bubble, bulbil, bulblet, bulge, bulla, bump,
     bunch, burl, button, cahot, chine, clump, condyle, convex, corm,
     dowel, ear, ellipsoid, flange, flap, gall, geoid, globe, globelet,
     globoid, globule, glomerulus, gnarl, gob, gobbet, handle, hill,
     hump, hunch, jog, joggle, knob, knot, knur, knurl, lip, loop, lump,
     mole, mountain, nevus, nub, nubbin, nubble, oblate spheroid, orb,
     orbit, orblet, papilloma, peg, pellet, prolate spheroid, radicle,
     radix, rhizome, rib, ridge, ring, rondure, root, rootstock,
     shoulder, sphere, spheroid, spherule, spine, stud, style, tab, tap,
     taproot, tuber, tubercle, tubercule, verruca, vesicle, wale, wart,
     welt