TENTACLE


Meaning of TENTACLE in English

/ ˈtentəkl; NAmE / noun

1.

[ C ] a long thin part of the body of some creatures, such as an octopus , used for feeling or holding things, for moving or for getting food :

( figurative )

Tentacles of fear closed around her body.

—picture at octopus

2.

tentacles [ pl. ] (usually disapproving ) the influence that a large place, organization or system has and that is hard to avoid :

The tentacles of satellite television are spreading even wider.

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WORD ORIGIN

mid 18th cent.: anglicized from modern Latin tentaculum , from Latin tentare , temptare to feel, try.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.