tenacle

T1E1N1A1C3L1E1
/ˈtɛnəkəl/

noun

A stalk or shoot by which a plant holds itself up, or by which climbing plants attach themselves to surfaces.

OriginLatin tenaculum →
Scrabble 9
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nountenacle (plural tenacles)

plural tenacles

  1. rareA stalk or shoot by which a plant holds itself up, or by which climbing plants attach themselves to surfaces.

    And Ivy divided from the root, we have observed to live some years, by the cirrous parts commonly conceived but as tenacles and holdfasts unto it.

    1658, Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, Folio Society, published 2007, page 198

Origin

  1. Latintenaculum
  2. Englishtenacle

From Latin tenaculum, from tenere (“to hold”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

eltenac
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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