ˈhīləm noun
( plural hi·la -lə)
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, trifle
1.
a. : a scar on a seed (as a bean) marking the point of attachment of the ovule to the funiculus
b. : the nucleus of a starch grain
c. : a small lateral outgrowth on a basidiospore near the point of its attachment to the sterigma on which it was borne
2. : a mark or notch in or opening from a bodily part suggesting the hilum of a bean: as
a. : the part of a gland or of certain other organs where the blood vessels, nerves, or ducts leave and enter
the hilum of the kidney
the hilum of the lung
b. : a small opening in the statoblast of a sponge