tendril

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun slender stem-like structure by which some twining plants attach themselves to an object for support

Etymology

From Middle French tendrillon (“bud, shoot, cartilage”), perhaps a diminutive of tendron (“cartilage”), from Old French tendre (“soft”) (see tender (adjective)), or else from Latin tendere (“to stretch, extend”) (see tender (verb)).

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