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peduncle?

teacup754

New Member
usa english
Has anyone heard the word "peduncle" used to mean the narrow part of an hourglass? Thanks for any help in resolving this or giving alternative words for me..
peduncle is a botanical word for the stalk carrying a flower or fruit.

I'd call the narrow part of an hourglass a "waist".

Think of a woman with an "hourglass figure". In the middle is her waist.
teacup754 said:
Has anyone heard the word "peduncle" used to mean the narrow part of an hourglass? Thanks for any help in resolving this or giving alternative words for me..

Not I: I've always thought that the narrow part was nameless.
Brioche said:
peduncle is a botanical word for the stalk carrying a flower or fruit.

I'd call the narrow part of an hourglass a "waist"

Nameless or "waist", either one.
Peduncle, pedicle, pedicule, pedicel - a range of post-classical latin formations all of which might be used to refer to the narrow part of structure consisting of two larger elements joined together.

None of the references I checked mentioned hour-glasses, so I trotted off to have a look at the definition of hour-glass just in case. Well, well, there it is, the OED definition of hour-glass includes the word used for that narrow part:
A contrivance for measuring time, consisting of a glass vessel with obconical ends connected by a constricted neck [...]
Related question for Brioche and other wordsmiths: If a woman with an hour-glass figure has a peduncle, which part holds the sand?

Here's a case in which Panj's hefty tomes have a good common sense descriptor.
Can't say I like the Peduncle, pedicle, pedicule, pedice family, since they come from the Latin word for foot.

cuchuflete: Those obconical ends are bulbs.
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