siphuncle

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noun

A strand of tissue passing longitudinally through the shell of a cephalopod, used primarily in emptying water from new chambers as the shell grows.

OriginLatin sīphunculus →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounsiphuncle (plural siphuncles)

plural siphuncles

  1. biologyA strand of tissue passing longitudinally through the shell of a cephalopod, used primarily in emptying water from new chambers as the shell grows.

    An extra-salty siphuncle naturally absorbs water from the phragmocone chambers, and the empty space left behind is filled with gases diffusing out from the blood.

    2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 37
  2. A nectary.

Origin

  1. Latinsīphunculus“little tube”
  2. Englishsiphuncle

From Latin sīphunculus (“little tube”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

uncleship
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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