follicle

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UK/ˈfɒlɪkəl/UK[ˈfɒlɪkɫ̩]US, dialectal/ˈfɑlɪkəl/US, dialectal[ˈfɑlɪkɫ̩]

noun

A small cavity or sac, such as a hair follicle.

OriginLatin folliculus ← Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- →
Less commonScrabble 13
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Meanings

nounfollicle (plural follicles)

plural follicles

  1. anatomyA small cavity or sac, such as a hair follicle.

    He could feel the follicles in his inner ear go crazy.

    1996, Janette Turner Hospital, Oyster, paperback edition, Virago Press, page 345
  2. biologyA type of primitive dry fruit produced by certain flowering plants.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰelǵʰ-
  2. Latinfollis
  3. Latinfolliculus
  4. Englishfollicle

Borrowed from Latin folliculus.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans follikel
  • follikelanatomy
Arabic حُوَيْصِلَة
  • حُوَيْصِلَة (ḥuwayṣila)anatomy
Catalan fol·licle, fol·licle
  • fol·licleanatomy
  • fol·liclebotany
Chinese Mandarin 小囊, 濾泡 /滤泡
  • 小囊 (xiǎonáng)anatomy
  • 濾泡 /滤泡 (lǜpào)anatomy
  • 毛囊 (máonáng)anatomy
  • 蓇葖 (gǔtú)botany
Czech folikul, váček
  • folikulanatomy
  • váčekanatomy
  • měchýřekbotany
Dutch follikel, kokevrucht
  • follikelanatomy
  • kokevruchtbotany
Esperanto foliklo, foliklo
  • folikloanatomy
  • foliklobotany
Finnish tuppi, (e.g. ovarian) rakkula
  • tuppianatomy
  • (e.g. ovarian) rakkulaanatomy
  • follikkelianatomy
  • tuppilobotany
French follicule, follicule
  • folliculeanatomy
  • folliculebotany
German Haarbalg, Haarfollikel
  • Haarbalganatomy
  • Haarfollikelanatomy
  • Balgfruchtbotany
Greek λεμφοζίδιο
  • λεμφοζίδιο (lemfozídio)anatomy
Hungarian tüsző, szőrtüsző
  • tüszőanatomy
  • szőrtüszőanatomy
  • tüszőbotany
  • tüszőtermésbotany
Italian follicolo, follicolo
  • follicoloanatomy
  • follicolobotany
Japanese 卵胞, 濾胞
  • 卵胞 (ranpō)anatomy
  • 濾胞 (rohō)anatomy
  • 小胞 (shōhō)anatomy
  • 毛嚢 (mōnō)anatomy
  • 袋果 (taika)botany
Korean 골돌과
  • 골돌과 (goldolgwa)botany
Māori ruahuru
  • ruahuruanatomy
Polish mieszek, woreczek
  • mieszekanatomy
  • woreczekanatomy
  • pęcherzykanatomy
  • torebkaanatomy
  • cebulkaanatomy
  • mieszekbotany
Portuguese folículo, folículo
  • folículoanatomy
  • folículobotany
Russian фолли́кул, мешо́чек
  • фолли́кул (follíkul)anatomy
  • мешо́чек (mešóček)anatomy
  • стручо́к (stručók)botany
  • мешо́чек (mešóček)botany
Spanish folículo, folículo
  • folículoanatomy
  • folículobotany
Tagalog bingkasbunga
  • bingkasbungabotany
Ukrainian листя́нка
  • листя́нка (lystjánka)botany
Vietnamese nang
  • nanganatomy
Welsh ffoligl
  • ffoliglbotany
Cite this entry
APA

follicle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/follicle

MLA

“follicle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/follicle. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “follicle,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/follicle.

Source: follicle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.