1.
[syn: hilus, hilum]
2. the scar on certain seeds marking its point of attachment to the funicle;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Hilum \Hi"lum\, n. [L., a little thing, trifle.]
1. (Bot.) The eye of a bean or other seed; the mark or scar
at the point of attachment of an ovule or seed to its base
or support; -- called also hile.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Anat.) The part of a gland, or similar organ, where the
blood vessels and nerves enter; the hilus; as, the hilum
of the kidney.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
hilum
n 1: (anatomy) a depression or fissure where vessels or nerves
or ducts enter a bodily organ; "the hilus of the kidney"
[syn: hilus, hilum]
2: the scar on certain seeds marking its point of attachment to
the funicle