n.
Pronunciation: ' ten-dr ə l
Function: noun
Etymology: probably modification of Middle French tendron bud, cartilage, alteration of Old French tenrum, from Vulgar Latin *tenerumen, from Latin tener tender ― more at TENDER
Date: 1538
1 : a leaf, stipule, or stem modified into a slender spirally coiling sensitive organ serving to attach a climbing plant to its support
2 : something suggestive of a tendril <creeping tendril s of fog>
– ten · driled or ten · drilled \ -dr ə ld \ adjective
– ten · dril · ous \ -dr ə -l ə s \ adjective
tendril