Lobe

How to spell lobe

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce lobe

What does lobe mean?

1. nounA rounded, projecting or hanging part, especially of a body organ such as the ear, brain, or lung.

Lobe in a sentence

• The surgeon explained that the tumour sat in the lower lobe of the lung.

• She felt a sharp pinch when the new earring caught her lobe.

Where does lobe come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word comes from the Greek lobos, which named a rounded, hanging part of the body, especially the soft flap at the bottom of the ear or one of the rounded divisions of the liver. Greek passed it into Late Latin as lobus, keeping the same anatomical sense. English took it in during the early 1500s, at first chiefly in medical writing to describe the divisions of organs such as the lungs, liver, and brain. From there it spread to anything with a similar rounded, projecting shape, including the petals of plants and decorative architectural curves. The silent final 'e' is simply the English spelling habit that marks the long 'o' sound, which is the small trap that makes some writers want to leave it off.

How the word is built

• lobe (from Greek lobos: a rounded, hanging part such as the lobe of the ear)