Meanings
gland1
noungland (plural glands)
plural glands
- biologyA specialized cell, group of cells, or organ of endothelial origin in the human or animal body that synthesizes a chemical substance, such as hormones or breast milk, and releases it, often into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland).
- anatomyA structure resembling a gland, especially a lymph node.
- engineeringA stuffing box used to seal a rotating or reciprocating shaft against a fluid.
The gland of a tap/faucet is usually packed with string which has been soaked in tallow or similar grease.
gland2
noungland (plural glands)
plural glands
- engineeringA compressable cylindrical case and its contents around a shaft where it passes through a barrier, intended to prevent the passage of a fluid past the barrier, used for example around a ship’s propeller shaft or around a tap, valve or faucet.
Gland3
proper noun
- A commune in Yonne department, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France.
- A commune in Aisne department, Hauts-de-France, France.
- A municipality in Nyon district, Vaud canton, Switzerland.
Synonyms & antonyms
Broader
Broader
Narrower
nounany of various organs that synthesize substances needed by the body and release it through ducts or directly into the bloodstream
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
gland · noun
- Latinglandulae“throat glands, tonsils”
- Old Frenchglandre
- Frenchglande
- Englishgland
Late 17th century borrowing from French glande, alteration of Old French glandre, from Latin glandulae (“throat glands, tonsils”), plural of glandula (“a little acorn”), from glāns (“an acorn”) + -ula (diminutive nominal suffix).
More words from French, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →gland · noun
- Scotsglam“vice, clamp”
- Englishgland
Early 19th century, probably from Scots glam (“vice, clamp”), probably from a variant of clam (“clam; clamp, vise”). Related to clamp.
More words from Scots
Full word history & related roots →Gland · proper noun
- Proto-Celtic*glanos“pure, clear, clean”
- Middle Frenchglans
- EnglishGland
From French, from Middle French glans, of Celtic/Gaulish origin, from Proto-Celtic *glanos (“pure, clear, clean”). Not related to gland (“gland, acorn”).
More words from Middle French, Proto-Celtic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀδήν
- ἀδήν (adḗn)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
Arabic غُدَّة
- غُدَّة (ḡudda)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
Basque guruin
- guruinorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Bengali গ্রন্থি
- গ্রন্থি (gronthi)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
Bulgarian жлеза́, са́лник
- жлеза́ (žlezá)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
- са́лник (sálnik)cylindrical case used for straining
Catalan glàndula
- glàndulaorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Chinese Mandarin 腺體 /腺体, 腺
- 腺體 /腺体 (xiàntǐ)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
- 腺 (xiàn)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
Czech žláza
- žlázaorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Danish kirtel
- kirtelorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Dutch klier, klier
- kliersecretory structure on the surface of an organ
- klierorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Esperanto glando
- glandoorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Estonian nääre
- nääreorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Finnish eritenysty, rauhanen
- eritenystysecretory structure on the surface of an organ
- rauhanenorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
French glande
- glandeorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
German Drüse, Drüse
- Drüsesecretory structure on the surface of an organ
- Drüseorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
- Stinkdrüseorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Greek αδένας, στυπιοθλήπτης
- αδένας (adénas)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
- στυπιοθλήπτης (stypiothlíptis)cylindrical case used for straining
Hebrew בַּלּוּטָה
- בַּלּוּטָה (balutá)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
Hindi ग्रंथि, ग्रंथि
- ग्रंथि (granthi)secretory structure on the surface of an organ
- ग्रंथि (granthi)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
Hungarian mirigy
- mirigyorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Icelandic kirtill
- kirtillorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Indonesian kelenjar, kelenjar
- kelenjarsecretory structure on the surface of an organ
- kelenjarorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
- glandulaorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Irish faireog, faireog
- faireogsecretory structure on the surface of an organ
- faireogorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Italian ghiandola, ghiandola
- ghiandolasecretory structure on the surface of an organ
- ghiandolaorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Japanese 腺, グランド
- 腺 (sen)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
- グランド (gurando)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
Korean 선
- 선 (seon)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
Latvian dziedzeris
- dziedzerisorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Lithuanian liauka
- liaukaorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Malay kelenjar
- kelenjarorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Māori repe
- repeorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Norwegian Bokmål kjertel
- kjertelorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Persian غده, دژپیه
- غده (ġodde)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
- دژپیه (dožpih)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
- بالو (bâlu)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
Polish gruczoł, gruczoł
- gruczołsecretory structure on the surface of an organ
- gruczołorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
- dławikcylindrical case used for straining
Portuguese glândula, glândula
- glândulasecretory structure on the surface of an organ
- glândulaorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Romanian glandă
- glandăorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Russian железа́, железа́
- железа́ (železá)secretory structure on the surface of an organ
- железа́ (železá)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
- са́льник (sálʹnik)cylindrical case used for straining
Slovak žľaza
- žľazaorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Spanish glándula, glándula
- glándulasecretory structure on the surface of an organ
- glándulaorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Swedish körtel
- körtelorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Tagalog katasan, katasan
- katasansecretory structure on the surface of an organ
- katasanorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Tamil சுரப்பி, சுரப்பி
- சுரப்பி (curappi)secretory structure on the surface of an organ
- சுரப்பி (curappi)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
Thai ต่อม
- ต่อม (dtɔ̀m)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
Turkish bez, salgı bezi
- bezorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
- salgı beziorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Ukrainian за́лоза, за́лоза
- за́лоза (záloza)secretory structure on the surface of an organ
- за́лоза (záloza)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
Urdu غدہ
- غدہ (ġudda)organ that synthesizes and secretes substance
Vietnamese tuyến
- tuyếnorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Welsh chwarren
- chwarrenorgan that synthesizes and secretes substance
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with gland
andhandlandbrandbandunderstandgrandstanddemandexpandplannedsandgranderandstrandbannedscannedcannedtannedwithstandblandsecondhandmannedbestand
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
gland. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gland
MLA
“gland.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gland. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gland,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gland.
Source: gland on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.