‖ villus Bot. and Anat.
(ˈvɪləs)
Pl. villi (ˈvɪlaɪ).
[L. villus tuft of hair, shaggy hair, etc.]
1. Bot. A long, slender, soft hair.
| 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Villi, in Botany, are small Hairs like the Grain of Plush or Shag, with which, as with a kind of Excrescence, some Trees do abound. 1884 Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. 90 The multicellular heads of the..glandular hairs, villi, and scales. |
2. Anat. A slender hair-like process or minute projection forming one of a number closely set upon a surface.
| pl. 1728 Chambers Cycl., Crusta Villosa,..the fourth Tunic..of the Stomach... On the inner Surface of this Coat, are seen innumerable Villi or Fibrillæ. 1771 Encycl. Brit. I. 260/1 The villi of this intestine [sc. the duodenum] are thicker than in the stomach. 1792 [see villous a. 1 b]. 1848 Carpenter Anim. Phys. 174 The lacteals originate in the numberless villi, or minute projections with which the mucous membrane that lines the alimentary tube is covered. 1861 J. R. Greene Man. Anim. Kingd., Cœlent. 31 The surface of this layer is often elevated into a number of villi, or conical processes. 1881 Mivart Cat 26 It may be produced into many, often relatively large, papillæ or villi. |
| sing. 1848 Carpenter Anim. Phys. 40 In the intervals of the digestive action, only a few granules..can be seen at the end of the villus. 1880 Beale Slight Ailments 89 Every villus of the intestinal canal is supplied with nerve fibres. |