tuber
/ˈtjuːbə
/noun
1A much thickened underground part of a stem or rhizome, e.g. in the potato, serving as a food reserve and bearing buds from which new plants arise.By contrast to leaves, potato tubers represent a non-photosynthetic plant tissue that uses a large amount of imported sucrose to synthesize starch as the major carbon store....
- All enzymes tested could be visualized in growing potato tubers or potato stems.
- Plant a few tubers now for new potatoes in August and September.
1.1A tuberous root, e.g. of the dahlia.A good thing, too, as everyone soon agreed: despite its beautiful flower, the dahlia tuber is not very tasty!...
- In mild climates, dahlia tubers can overwinter in the ground; in cold climates, dig and store them in a frost-free place until planting time in spring.
- Vegetative propagation through budding, grafting, tubers, rootstocks and tissue culture are major industries.
2 Anatomy A rounded swelling or protuberant part: [with Latin modifier]: tuber cinereum...
- In her paper, she also details that Paul is afflicted with renal cysts, a densely-calcified right frontal lobe cortical tuber and renal cell carcinoma as well other conditions.
- This patient also had cerebral tubers (not mentioned in the original history).
- Cortical tubers, or benign potato-like growths, appear along the gyri and sulci in the brain.
Origin
Mid 17th century: from Latin, literally 'hump, swelling'.
truffle from late 16th century:
This word for a type of fungus is probably via Dutch from obsolete French truffle, perhaps based on Latin tubera, the plural of tuber ‘hump, swelling’, also the source of tuber (late 17th century). Use of the word in confectionery dates from the 1920s. The related verb tumere ‘to swell’ is the source of tumult (Late Middle English)