▪ I. gland1
(glænd)
[ad. L. gland-em, glans acorn, perh. through F. gland.]
1. An acorn. Obs. exc. (occas.) Bot. = glans 2.
| 1631 R. H. Arraignm. Whole Creature x. §1. 76 Many Countries lived of Pulse. and Gland, and Dates. 1721 Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 45 A hundred Bushels, which may probably contain in Number 384000 Acorns; for reckoning sixty Glands to the Pint, which is 3840 to the Bushel, in a hundred Bushels there will be the aforesaid Number. 1836 Penny Cycl. V. 252/3 Gland,..the fruit of the oak, the hazel, &c. 1880 [see glans 2]. |
† 2. (See
quot.; so
Gr. βάλανος.)
Obs.| 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. xix. 745 Glands, or Suppositories. |
3. = glans 1. (Mayne
Expos. Lex. 1854.)
4. Hist. An acorn-shaped ball of lead, used as a missile.
| 1852 Burn Naval & Milit. Dict. 183 Gland,..leaden ball for a sling, in the form of an acorn, having frequently devices engraved upon it. 1927 J. Mothersole In Roman Scot. xviii. 252 These leaden sling-bullets (called ‘glandes’ because they were shaped like acorns) were only used up to the close of the first century. |
▪ II. gland2 (
glænd)
[ad. F. glande gland, tumour, altered form of OF. glandre (see glander), *glandle, ad. L. *glandula glandule.] 1. Phys. An organ, composed of nucleated cells and either simple or complex in structure, which separates from the blood certain constituents for use in the body, or for ejection from it.
Simple and compound glands are also distinguished as
conglobate (
cf. lymphatic) and
conglomerate,
q.v. Certain organs, such as the spleen, thymus, thyroid, and adrenals, which perform the function of glands but have no excretory duct, are known as
ductless (also
aporic) glands. Individual glands, or groups of glands, are chiefly named from their position, as
cervical,
cœliac,
iliac, etc., or from their discoverer, as
Blandin's,
Bowman's, etc.
| 1692 Ray Dissol. World 132 Shells found in Animal Bodies, in whose Glands they were originally formed. a 1711 Ken Hymnotheo Poet. Wks. 1721 III. 109 Soft Love compress'd the Gland in either Eye, And Tears flow'd down. 1718 J. Chamberlayne Relig. Philos. (1730) I. iii. §4 There are in the Mouth so many Glands or Fountains of Spittle. 1781 E. Darwin Bot. Gard. i. (1791) 155 The Chyle's white trunk..Winds into glands, inextricable clues. 1830 R. Knox Béclard's Anat. 75 The cellular tissue is more abundant in the muscles than in the glands. 1851 Carpenter Man. Phys. (ed. 2) 298 In Mammalia, the Absorbent system presents itself in its most developed and concentrated state..the glands are much more numerous. 1872 Mivart Elem. Anat. x. (1873) 430 Each gland consists essentially of a net⁓work of finely divided lymphatic vessels on and amongst which capillary blood vessels ramify. |
2. Bot. A secreting cell or group of cells on the surface of a plant-structure (
cf. quots. 1845–78).
| 1785 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xii. 131 At one end of these [filaments] is a gland, at the other an anther. 1805 Med. Jrnl. XIV. 543 Leaves circular..with two glands running one into another on the inner side above the base. 1845 Lindley Sch. Bot. i. (1858) 19 Glands are either hairs with a head or secreting organ..or internal nuclei..or little tubercles upon various organs. 1878 W. R. McNab Bot. (1879) 59 Glands are cells or aggregations of cells distinguished..by containing resinous, oily, sugary, or fragrant substances. |
3. attrib. and
Comb., as
gland-alveolus,
gland-cell,
gland-cyst,
gland-duct,
gland-fever,
gland-follicle,
gland-lesion,
gland-lobule,
gland-mass,
gland-nerve,
gland-orifice,
gland-patch,
gland-pit,
gland-salts,
gland-secretion,
gland-structure,
gland-tissue,
gland-tube,
gland-tumour,
gland-vesicle; also
gland-bearing,
gland-ciliate(d,
gland-dotted,
gland-like,
gland-tipped adjs.| 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 809 Numerous small *gland alveoli open along its course. |
| 1860 Darwin in Life & Lett. (1887) III. 319 One of the *gland-bearing hairs of Drosera. |
| 1875 ― Insectiv. Pl. iii. 56 The fluid within the *gland cells passes outwards. 1880 Beale Slight Ailm. 110 As age advances the gland-cells become more feeble. |
| 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 465 Nephrodium rigidum..involucre, *gland⁓ciliate. |
| Ibid. 124 Rosa canina..densely *gland-ciliated bracts. |
| 1885 Syd. Soc. Lex., *Gland-cyst, a cyst developed in a gland from obstruction of a duct or distension of a follicle. |
| 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora p. xi, Hypericineæ..leaves opposite often *gland-dotted. |
| 1860 Sir H. Thompson Dis. Prostate (1868) 62 Pus is, in such cases, often found filling the sinus pocularis and the *gland-ducts around. |
| 1885 Syd. Soc. Lex., *Gland-fever, a fever having connection with a disordered condition of the glands. |
| 1878 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. I. 138 The kind of tissue which is found between the *gland-follicles. |
| 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 659 The *gland-lesion was essentially primary. |
| 1849–52 Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 1214/1 The whitish *gland-like mass. |
| Ibid. 829/1 The *gland-lobules have the same relation to the efferent renal veins. |
| 1897 Hutchinson Archives Surg. VIII. 205 A very considerable *gland-mass had now appeared on the left iliac fossa. |
| 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 307 *Gland-nerves are..held to contain at least two sets of fibres. |
| 1878 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. I. 102 The dilatation of occluded ducts or natural *gland-orifices. |
| 1849–52 Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 839/1 In many Mammalia certain Peyerian *gland-patches show a constant..size at all periods. |
| 1906 Academy 6 Jan. 8/2 The pre-orbital *gland-pit which has been traced in the skulls of Hipparion. |
| 1873 T. H. Green Introd. Pathol. (ed. 2) 79 In those cases in which calcification is associated with retained *gland-secretions, the calcareous matters will consist of the specific *gland salts. |
| Ibid. 154 The adenomata always originate from pre-existing *gland-strucures. |
| 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 110 Quite glabrous, i.e. without bristles or *gland-tipped hairs. |
| 1860 Sir H. Thompson Dis. Prostate (1868) 62 More fluid than natural is found in the *gland-tissue, and freely issues on being pressed. |
| 1881 Trans. Obstetr. Soc. Lond. XXII. 48 The lumen of the *gland-tubes. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXV. 394/1 The forms of the several kinds of glands depend on the degree of branching of these gland tubes. |
| 1897 Hutchinson Archives Surg. VIII. 201 The following notes describe a case in which a *gland tumour..continued to grow steadily for many years. |
| 1849–52 Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 831/2 A microscopic examination of the expressed contents of the *gland-vesicles reveals nuclei. |
▪ III. gland3 Mech. (
glænd)
[? var. of glan, glam2; cf. Sc. glaun(d ‘a clamp of iron or wood’ (Jam.).] 1. A sleeve employed to press a packing tight on a piston-rod (
cf. follower 5 d, and
clam ‘a movable collaring for a pump’ (
Eng. Dial. Dict.).
| 1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Eng. 53, bb is the cover of the casing, furnished with a stuffing box, gland, &c. 1871 Daily News 6 Nov., The glands were leaking, and I thought every minute the steampipe would go. 1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 23 The glands on the top of each low-pressure cylinder..will be enclosed in a steam-tight casing. |
2. A cross-piece or clutch made fast to a shaft, and communicating motion to a machine by engaging with part of the gearing.
| 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 31 Clutches or glands may be used with much advantage as a coupling for double bearings. Fig. 57 represents a coupling of this kind; it consists of two crosses..one fixed to each shaft. |
3. Founding.
a. ‘A hooked bar by which the parts of a molder's flask are clamped together.’
b. ‘A plate through which the ends of a band or tightening clevis
pass. A clip-plate.’
| 1875 in Knight Dict. Mech. 971/2. |
4. Comb., as
gland-packer;
gland-cock (see
quot.).
| 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. IV. 400/1 Gland-cock, a faucet held in place by a gland. 1885 Instr. Census Clerks 42 Engine, Machine maker..Gland Packer (Loco.). |