[ten.dril] n [prob. modif. of MF tendron, tendrum bud, cartilage, fr. (assumed) VL tenerumen, fr. L tener tender--more at tender] (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 "hair hanging in ~s" "creeping ~s of fog" -- ten.driled or ten.drilled adj -- ten.dril.ous adj