Webster's English Dictionary

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bulb

bulb \'b*lb\ \.b*l-'ba--sh*s\ \'b*lbd\ n [L bulbus, fr. Gk bolbos bulbous 
   plant; akin to Arm bolk radi]sh 1a: a mass of overlapping membranous or 
   fleshy leaves on a short stem base  enclosing one or more buds able to 
   develop into new plants and constituting the resting stage of many plants 
   (as lily, onion, hyacinth, tulip) 1b: a fleshy structure (as a tuber or 
   corm) resembling a bulb in appearance  1c: a plant having or developing 
   from a bulb  2: a bulb-shaped part; specif : a rounded glass envelope 
   enclosing  the light source of an electric lamp or such an envelope 
   together with the light source it encloses 3: a rounded or swollen 
   anatomical structure  4: a camera setting that indicates that the shutter 
   can be opened by pressi ng on the release and closed by ending the pressure 
   - bul.ba.ceous aj