from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Gland \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.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Anat.)
(a) 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.
(b) An organ or part which resembles a secreting, or true,
gland, as the ductless, lymphatic, pineal, and
pituitary glands, the functions of which are very
imperfectly known.
[1913 Webster]
Note: 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]
2. (Bot.)
(a) A special organ of plants, usually minute and
globular, which often secretes some kind of resinous,
gummy, or aromatic product.
(b) Any very small prominence.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Steam Mach.) 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]
4. (Mach.) The crosspiece of a bayonet clutch.
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