"thick underground stem," 1660s, from Latin tuber "lump, bump," perhaps related to tumere "to swell" (see thigh).
tuber tu·ber (tōō'bər, tyōō'-)
n. pl. tubers or tu·ber·a (-bər-ə)
A localized rounded projection or swelling; a knob, tuberosity, or eminence.
tuber (t'bər) The thickened part of an underground stem of a plant, such as the potato, bearing buds from which new plant shoots arise. Compare bulb, corm, rhizome, runner. |