ˌdīvə(r)ˈtikyələm noun
( plural diverticu·la -lə)
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, bypath, probably alteration of deverticulum, from devertere to turn aside, go aside + -i- + -culum -cle — more at diversory
1. : a pocket or closed branch opening off a main passage
2.
a. : an abnormal pouch or sac opening from a hollow organ (as the intestine or bladder)
b. : a blind tube or sac branching off from a cavity or canal of the body
3. : one of the filaments arising from the fused cells of a fertilized procarp and giving rise to carpospores in certain red algae
4. : a branch produced laterally on the mycelium of a fungus (as of the genus Pythium )