Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Gland \Gland\, n. [F. glande, L. glans, glandis, acorn; akin to
   Gr. ? for ?, and ? to cast, throw, the acorn being the
   dropped fruit. Cf. {Parable}, n.]
   1. (Anat.)
      (a) An organ for secreting something to be used in, or
          eliminated from, the body; as, the sebaceous glands of
          the skin; the salivary glands of the mouth.
      (b) An organ or part which resembles a secreting, or true,
          gland, as the ductless, lymphatic, pineal, and
          pituitary glands, the functions of which are very
          imperfectly known.

   Note: The true secreting glands are, in principle, narrow
         pouches of the mucous membranes, or of the integument,
         lined with a continuation of the epithelium, or of the
         epidermis, the cells of which produce the secretion
         from the blood. In the larger glands, the pouches are
         tubular, greatly elongated, and coiled, as in the sweat
         glands, or subdivided and branched, making compound and
         racemose glands, such as the pancreas.

   2. (Bot.)
      (a) A special organ of plants, usually minute and
          globular, which often secretes some kind of resinous,
          gummy, or aromatic product.
      (b) Any very small prominence.

   3. (Steam Mach.) The movable part of a stuffing box by which
      the packing is compressed; -- sometimes called a follower.
      See Illust. of {Stuffing box}, under {Stuffing}.

   4. (Mach.) The crosspiece of a bayonet clutch.

Source : WordNet®

gland
     n : any of various organs that synthesize substances needed by
         the body and release it through ducts or directly into
         the bloodstream [syn: {secretory organ}, {secretor}, {secreter}]