nodule

[ noj-ool ]

noun

1. a small node, knot, or knob.
2. a small, rounded mass or lump.
3. Botany. a tubercle.

nodule

/ ˈnɒdjuːl /

noun

1. a small knot, lump, or node
2. Also calledroot nodule any of the knoblike outgrowths on the roots of clover and many other legumes: contain bacteria involved in nitrogen fixation
3. anatomy any small node or knoblike protuberance
4. a small rounded lump of rock or mineral substance, esp in a matrix of different rock material

nodule

/ nŏj′o̅o̅l /

1. A small, usually hard mass of tissue in the body.
2. A small, knoblike outgrowth found on the roots of many legumes, such as alfalfa, beans, and peas. Nodules grow after the roots have been infected with nitrogen-fixing bacteria of the genus Rhizobium.
3. See more at legume
4. A small, rounded lump of a mineral or mixture of minerals that is distinct from and usually harder than the surrounding rock or sediment. Nodules often form by replacement of a small part of the rocks in which they form.

Derived Forms

• ˈnodular, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of nodule¹

1590–1600; < Latin nōdulus a little knot, equivalent to nōd ( us ) node + -ulus -ule

Word History and Origins

Origin of nodule¹

C17: from Latin nōdulus, from nōdus knot

Example Sentences

In the 1960s, an American mining engineer named John Mero publicized a tantalizing idea: that these nodules were an untapped fortune ready for the taking.

From Salon

The bounty for such mining operations are polymetallic nodules — mineral spheres that are roughly the size of a baseball and found far offshore, thousands of feet below the ocean’s surface.

From Los Angeles Times

Here, at depths of 5km, where no sunlight can penetrate, the oxygen appears to be produced by naturally occurring metallic “nodules” which split seawater - H2O - into hydrogen and oxygen.

From BBC

Among other things, the silt at the bottom of the deep sea, which will be stirred up when extracting manganese nodules, for example, is a major concern.

From Science Daily

Five expert human annotators might provide five different segmentations, perhaps disagreeing on the existence or extent of the borders of a nodule in a lung CT image.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• growth
• knot
• node