Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One of a pair of elongated, often segmented appendages usually found near the mouth in invertebrate organisms such as mollusks, crustaceans, and insects, the functions of which include sensation, locomotion, and feeding.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A tactile organ; a feeler. See palpus.
  • To feel; have a feeling of.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To have a distinct touch or feeling of; to feel.
  • noun (Zoöl.) Same as palpus.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun zoology an appendage found near the mouth in invertebrates
  • noun The fleshy part of a fingertip
  • verb To feel, to explore by touch.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French palpe, from New Latin palpus, from Latin, a touching; see pāl- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

For verb: From French palper, from Latin palpare, palpari ("to stroke, touch softly, feel").

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