gland

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

gland, n. [F. glande, L. glans, glandis, acorn; akin to Gr. for , and to cast, throw, the acorn being the dropped fruit. Cf. Parable, n.].

•  An organ for secreting something to be used in, or eliminated from, the body; as, the sebaceous glands of the skin; the salivary glands of the mouth.  [1913 Webster]

  " The true secreting glands are, in principle, narrow pouches of the mucous membranes, or of the integument, lined with a continuation of the epithelium, or of the epidermis, the cells of which produce the secretion from the blood. In the larger glands, the pouches are tubular, greatly elongated, and coiled, as in the sweat glands, or subdivided and branched, making compound and racemose glands, such as the pancreas."  [1913 Webster]
•  A special organ of plants, usually minute and globular, which often secretes some kind of resinous, gummy, or aromatic product.  [1913 Webster]
•  The movable part of a stuffing box by which the packing is compressed; -- sometimes called a follower. See Illust. of Stuffing box, under Stuffing.  [1913 Webster]
•  The crosspiece of a bayonet clutch.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

gland, n.
1 a an organ in an animal body secreting substances for use in the body or for ejection. b a structure resembling this, such as a lymph gland.
2 Bot. a secreting cell or group of cells on the surface of a plant-structure.

gland, n. a sleeve used to produce a seal round a moving shaft.

Etymology

19th c.: perh. var. of glam, glan a vice, rel. to CLAMP(1)

THESAURUS

gland

acromegaly, adrenal, breast, choriocarcinoma, cretinism, diabetes, diabetes insipidus, diabetes mellitus, dwarfism, gasket, giantism, hyperglycemia, hyperparathyroidism, hypo-ovarianism, hypothyroidism, liver, mamma, mammary gland, ovary, packing, padding, pancreas, panhypopituitarism, pheochromocytoma, pineal body, prostate, prostate gland, sexual precocity, spermary, stopping, stuffing, tampon, testicle, thyroid, thyroid gland, thyrotoxicosis, toxic goiter, wadding