A hair or hair-like filament; in anatomy, the hair of the human head or similar structures in other organisms.
Latin word meaning hair, possibly from an Indo-European root related to concepts of growth or protrusion. The word entered English scientific and medical vocabulary through anatomical and biological texts.
The word capillus gave us 'capillary'—and capillary action in plants is literally hair-raising: water climbs up these microscopic tubes against gravity through the same forces that make a hair-thin strand of glass attract liquid!
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