alveolus

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin alveolus (“a small hollow or cavity”), diminutive of alveus (“a hollow, cavity”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌal.viˈəʊ.ləs/, /alˈviː.əl.əs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ælˈvi.əl.əs/
• Rhymes: -iːələs

Noun

alveolus (plural alveoli)

1. A small cavity or pit.
   1. (anatomy) Any of the many tiny air sacs in the lungs in which the bronchioles terminate and where oxygen and carbon dioxide are rapidly exchanged with the pulmonary capillaries.

      Synonym: pulmonary alveolus

   2. (anatomy, dentistry) The bony socket in which the root of a tooth resides.

      Synonyms: dental alveolus, tooth socket

   3. (anatomy) An acinus (saclike cavity) in a gland.
      • 1997, Comprehensive Toxicology: Reproductive and endocrine toxicology, page 258:

        The sprouts proliferate and canalize to form the lactiferous ducts and the outbuddings form the alveoli of the mammary glands.

   4. (entomology) The socket of a macrotrichium (seta).

Derived terms

• alveolar
• alveolate
• alveolation
• alveoliform
• alveolitis
• alveolo-

 

Translations

anatomy: hollow cavity

• Azerbaijani: yuvaq
• Catalan: alvèol (ca) m
• Danish: alveole c
• Finnish: alveoli (fi)
• German: Alveole (de) f
• Irish: ailbheolas m
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: sikildanok

• Maori: miru
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: alveol m

  Nynorsk: alveol m

• Ottoman Turkish: سنخ (sinh)
• Persian: آرج (âraj), آره (fa) (âra)
• Portuguese: alvéolo (pt) m
• Romanian: alveolă (ro) f
• Serbo-Croatian: alveola (sh) f
• Spanish: alvéolo (es) m, alveolo (es) m
• Thai: เบ้าฟัน (th) (bâo-fan)

small air sac in the lungs

• Arabic: حويصلة هوائية (hawysilatan hawayiya)
• Azerbaijani: yuvaq
• Bulgarian: алвео́ла (bg) f (alveóla)
• Catalan: alvèol (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 肺泡 (zh) (fèipào)

• Czech: plicní sklípek (cs) m
• Danish: alveole c
• Finnish: rakkula (fi), keuhkorakkula (fi)
• French: alvéoles pulmonaires (fr) f pl
• German: Lungenbläschen (de) n or n pl
• Greek: κυψελίδα (el) f (kypselída)
• Hawaiian: nōiki
• Hebrew: נֹאדִית f
• Hungarian: alveolus (hu)
• Irish: ailbheolas m
• Japanese: 肺胞 (ja) (haihō)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: skildanokê hewayê m

• Maori: miru
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: alveol m

  Nynorsk: alveol m

• Polish: pęcherzyk płucny m
• Portuguese: alvéolo (pt) m
• Romanian: alveolă (ro) f
• Russian: альвеола (ru) (alʹveola)
• Serbo-Croatian: alveola (sh) f
• Spanish: alvéolo (es) m, alveolo (es) m
• Swedish: alveol (sv) c, lungblåsa (sv) c
• Tagalog: supot-hangin
• Thai: ถุงลม

References

• “alveolus”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “alveolus”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “alveolus”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “alveolus”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Indonesian

Etymology

From English alveolus, from Latin alveolus, a diminutive of alveus (“a tray, trough, basin”), from alvus (“the belly, the stomach, bowels, womb, etc.”).

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA^(key): [al.veˈo.lʊs]
• (common) IPA^(key): [al.feˈo.lʊs]
• Hyphenation: al‧vé‧o‧lus

Noun

alvéolus (first-person possessive alveolusku, second-person possessive alveolusmu, third-person possessive alveolusnya)

1. alveolus,
   1. (anatomy, pulmonology) A small air sac in the lungs, where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged with the blood.
   2. (anatomy, dentistry) A dental alveolus (tooth socket): the socket in which a tooth resides.

Alternative forms

• alveola

Further reading

• “alveolus” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Latin

Etymology

From alveus (“a hollow, cavity”) +‎ -olus (diminutive nominal suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /alˈu̯e.o.lus/, [äɫ̪ˈu̯eɔɫ̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /alˈve.o.lus/, [älˈvɛːolus]

Noun

alveolus m (genitive alveolī); second declension

1. diminutive of alveus:
   1. a small hollow or cavity
   2. a tray, trough, basin
   3. (board games) a small gaming board upon which the dice are thrown
   4. a small channel of a river
   5. (weaving) a weaver's shuttle (from its shape)

Inflection

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	alveolus	alveolī
Genitive	alveolī	alveolōrum
Dative	alveolō	alveolīs
Accusative	alveolum	alveolōs
Ablative	alveolō	alveolīs
Vocative	alveole	alveolī

Derived terms

• alveolātus (adjective)
• alveolāris (adjective)

Related terms

• alveus

Descendants

Descendants of alveolus in other languages

• → Albanian: nullë
• → Catalan: alvèol
• → English: alveolus
• → French: alvéole
• Irish: ailbheolas
• → Italian: alveolo
• → Portuguese: alvéolo
• → Romanian: alveolă
• → Russian: альвео́ла (alʹveóla)
• → Spanish: alvéolo
• → Venetian: alvèolo, albòl
• Vulgar Latin: *albiolus, *albiola
  • → Italian: albiolo
  • Romanian: albioară

References

• “alveolus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “alveolus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• alveolus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• alveolus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• alveolus in D. P. Simpson, Cassell's Latin Dictionary, Wiley Publishing, 1968