What does tendril mean?
A tendril is a slender, flexible appendage that helps a climbing plant hold onto a support. Many tendrils twist or coil around objects such as stems, wires, and trellises, allowing a plant with weak stems to climb and reach more light. The word can also describe a similar threadlike or grasping appendage on certain animals, especially marine creatures such as octopuses and squid. In ordinary writing, “tendril” often suggests something fine, curling, and searching for support: a figurative tendril may be a strand of hair, a curling piece of smoke, or a narrow path extending from something larger. The term is precise and evocative, combining a botanical function with the image of a delicate, persistent grip.
nounA tendril is a slender, flexible, usually curling appendage of a climbing plant that helps it grasp a support. The term can also refer to a similar threadlike or grasping appendage on certain animals.
- A slender, flexible, usually coiling appendage of a climbing plant, used to grasp a support.
- A threadlike or grasping appendage resembling a plant tendril, especially in certain animals.
"The vine wound its slender tendrils around the trellis and began to climb."
"The tendrils of the pea plant curled around the wire fence."
"The octopus used its tendrils to draw a small crab toward its mouth."
The standard plural adds -s: one tendril, two tendrils.
"Several tendrils stretched toward the nearest support."
A tendril is a plant's tiny climbing hand: it coils around a support and helps turn a weak stem into a climber.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tendril come from?
The word entered English from French tendrillon, a diminutive of tendre, meaning “tender” or “delicate.” This French word ultimately draws on Latin tendere, “to stretch,” which also underlies tend, tendon, tension, and tendency. The diminutive ending reflects the small, threadlike character of the plant structures the word names.
How tendril is actually used
The word is most common in botanical contexts but is also used zoologically and figuratively. In figurative use, it usually suggests a thin, curling strand or grasping extension.
Easily confused with tendril
A tendril is a noun naming a slender grasping or curling appendage, while tendril-like is an adjective describing something that resembles such an appendage.