Real Dictionary

villus in American English
any of numerous hairlike or fingerlike vascular processes on certain mucous membranes of the body, as of the small intestine, serving to secrete mucus, absorb fats, etc., or of the chorion in the mammalian placenta, serving in the exchange of food materia
noun: one of the minute, wormlike processes on certain membranes, esp. on the mucous membrane of the small intestine, where they serve in absorbing nutriment

villus in British English
noun: any of the numerous finger-like projections of the mucous membrane lining the small intestine of many vertebrates