tendril Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun slender stem-like structure by which some twining plants attach themselves to an object for support

WordNet

Ten"dril noun
Etymology
Shortened fr. OF. tendrillon, fr. F. tendre tender; hence, properly, the tender branch or spring of a plant: cf. F. tendrille. See Tender, a., and cf. Tendron.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A slender, leafless portion of a plant by which it becomes attached to a supporting body, after which the tendril usually contracts by coiling spirally. ✍ Tendrils may represent the end of a stem, as in the grapevine; an axillary branch, as in the passion flower; stipules, as in the genus Smilax; or the end of a leaf, as in the pea.
Ten"dril adjective
Definitions
  1. Clasping; climbing as a tendril. R. Dyer.

Webster 1913