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''umbilical cord'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260331180822-00-⌔
umbilical cord - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Noun
umbilical cord (plural umbilical cords)
- (anatomy) The flexible structure connecting a foetus with the placenta; it transports nourishment to the foetus and removes waste.
- (aerospace) The line that supplies an astronaut with oxygen and communications when outside a spacecraft.
- (aerospace) Any of the various lines connecting a rocket to its launch pad before liftoff.
- (botany) Synonym of funiculus.
- (figurative) An overdependence on or overattachment to support, especially from one’s parents or guardians.
- ✤ Remember the eastern leg of HS2 being lopped back to the East Midlands? To this Yorkshireman, this was a tragedy. It removed the umbilical cord designed to connect and bind together the modern advanced manufacturing corridor of England (West Midlands-East Midlands-the reborn Sheffield-Leeds-Teesside-Tyneside), helping it to be capable of competing internationally through the synergy of skills and skilled people.1
Etymology
From umbilical + cord. Largely displaced native navel-string. First attested in 1753.
Pronunciation
- Audio (Southern England): 🔊
Printed 2026-06-28.
(echo:: @ ⌗)
Link to original Footnotes
2024 February 7, Andrew McNaughton, “HS2: a truncated route cuts off city lifelines”, in RAIL, number 1002, page 47: ↩
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