duct

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
duct/dʌkt/

▶noun

• 1 a tube or passageway in a building or machine for air, cables, etc.

• 2 a vessel in the body for conveying lymph or glandular secretions.

  ■ a vessel in a plant for conveying water, sap, or air.

▶verb convey through a duct.

– derivatives
ductal adjective,
ducting noun.

– origin C17 (in the sense ‘course’ or ‘direction’): from L. ductus ‘leading, aqueduct’ from duct-, ducere ‘lead’.