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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

gland.

A specialized cell, group of cells, or organ of endothelial origin in the human or animal body that synthesizes a chemical substance, such as hormones or breast milk, and releases it, often into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland).

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ɡlænd/Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ɡleənd] ~ [ɡlɛənd]/ɡland/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/ɡlæːnd/Australia
  1. A specialized cell, group of cells, or organ of endothelial origin in the human or animal body that synthesizes a chemical substance, such as hormones or breast milk, and releases it, often into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland).

  2. A specialized cell, group of cells, or organ of endothelial origin in the human or animal body that synthesizes a chemical substance, such as hormones or breast milk, and releases it, often into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). A structure resembling a gland, especially a lymph node.

  3. A secretory structure on the surface of an organ.

  4. A stuffing box used to seal a rotating or reciprocating shaft against a fluid.

    The gland of a tap/faucet is usually packed with string which has been soaked in tallow or similar grease.
Where this word comes from

Late 17th century borrowing from French glande, alteration of Old French glandre, from Latin glandulae (“throat glands, tonsils”), plural of glandula (“a little acorn”), from glāns (“an acorn”) + -ula (diminutive nominal suffix).

noun/ɡlænd/Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation[ɡleənd] ~ [ɡlɛənd]/ɡland/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/ɡlæːnd/Australia
  1. A compressable cylindrical case and its contents around a shaft where it passes through a barrier, intended to prevent the passage of a fluid past the barrier, used for example around a ship’s propeller shaft or around a tap, valve or faucet.

Where this word comes from

Early 19th century, probably from Scots glam (“vice, clamp”), probably from a variant of clam (“clam; clamp, vise”). Related to clamp.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.