tentacle

English

Etymology

From New Latin tentāculum, from tentō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛntəkəl/, /ˈtɛntɨkəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

tentacle (plural tentacles)

1. An elongated, boneless, flexible organ or limb of some animals, such as the octopus and squid.
   • 1873, Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

     With one blow of the axe, Captain Nemo cut this formidable tentacle, that slid wriggling down the ladder.

   • 1897, H. G. Wells, The Crystal Egg

     The body was small, but fitted with two bunches of prehensile organs, like long tentacles, immediately under the mouth.

   • 1936, H. P. Lovecraft, The Shadow Out of Time

     Surmounting this head were four slender grey stalks bearing flower-like appendages, whilst from its nether side dangled eight greenish antennae or tentacles.

2. (botany) One of the glandular hairs on the leaves of certain insectivorous plants.
3. (figurative) An insidious reach or influence.

   the tentacles of the criminal underworld

Derived terms

• tentacular

Translations

elongated, boneless, flexible appendage

• Belarusian: шчу́пальца n (ščúpalʹca)
• Bulgarian: пипа́ло (bg) n (pipálo)
• Catalan: tentacle (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 觸手 (zh), 触手 (zh) (chùshǒu)

• Czech: chapadlo (cs) n
• Dutch: tentakel (nl) n
• Finnish: lonkero (fi)
• French: tentacule (fr) m
• Galician: tentáculo m
• Georgian: საცეცი (saceci)
• German: Tentakel (de) m
• Greek: πλοκάμι (el) n (plokámi)

  Ancient: ὄστλιγξ (grc) f (óstlinx)

• Irish: adharcán m

• Italian: tentacolo (it) m
• Japanese: 触手 (しょくしゅ, shokushu)
• Korean: 촉수 (ko) (choksu) (觸手 (ko))
• Latvian: tausteklis m
• Maori: kāwai, wekeweke, ngongotua, patapata
• Occitan: tentacul m
• Polish: macka f
• Portuguese: tentáculo (pt) m
• Russian: щу́пальце (ru) n (ščúpalʹce)
• Serbo-Croatian: pipak (sh) m, pipaljka f, пипак m, пипаљка f
• Slovak: chápadlo n
• Spanish: tentáculo m
• Swedish: tentakel (sv) c
• Tagalog: galamay
• Turkish: dokunaç (tr), tentakül
• Ukrainian: щу́пальце n (ščúpalʹce)

Anagrams

• ectental, electant

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Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /tənˈta.klə/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /tenˈta.kle/

Noun

tentacle m (plural tentacles)

1. tentacle

Related terms

• tentacular

Further reading

• “tentacle” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “tentacle” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “tentacle” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “tentacle” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.