- Bladder
- Bladder Blad"der (bl[a^]d"d[~e]r), n. [OE. bladder, bleddre,
AS. bl[=ae]dre, bl[=ae]ddre; akin to Icel. bla[eth]ra, SW.
bl["a]ddra, Dan. bl[ae]re, D. blaar, OHG. bl[=a]tara the
bladder in the body of animals, G. blatter blister, bustule;
all fr. the same root as AS. bl[=a]wan, E. blow, to puff. See
{Blow} to puff.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Anat.) A bag or sac in animals, which serves as the
receptacle of some fluid; as, the urinary bladder; the
gall bladder; -- applied especially to the urinary
bladder, either within the animal, or when taken out and
inflated with air.
[1913 Webster]
2. Any vesicle or blister, especially if filled with air, or a thin, watery fluid. [1913 Webster]
3. (Bot.) A distended, membranaceous pericarp. [1913 Webster]
4. Anything inflated, empty, or unsound. ``To swim with bladders of philosophy.'' --Rochester. [1913 Webster]
{Bladder nut}, or {Bladder tree} (Bot.), a genus of plants ({Staphylea}) with bladderlike seed pods.
{Bladder pod} (Bot.), a genus of low herbs ({Vesicaria}) with inflated seed pods.
{Bladdor senna} (Bot.), a genus of shrubs ({Colutea}), with membranaceous, inflated pods.
{Bladder worm} (Zo["o]l.), the larva of any species of tapeworm ({T[ae]nia}), found in the flesh or other parts of animals. See {Measle}, {Cysticercus}.
{Bladder wrack} (Bot.), the common black rock weed of the seacoast ({Fucus nodosus} and {Fucus vesiculosus}) -- called also {bladder tangle}. See {Wrack}. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.