bract

[ brakt ]

noun

, Botany.

1. a specialized leaf or leaflike part, usually situated at the base of a flower or inflorescence.

bract

/ brækt /

noun

1. a specialized leaf, usually smaller than the foliage leaves, with a single flower or inflorescence growing in its axil

bract

/ brăkt /

1. A modified leaf growing just below a flower or flower stalk. Bracts are generally small and inconspicuous, but some are showy and petallike, as the brightly colored bracts of bougainvillaea or the white or pink bracts of flowering dogwoods.

Derived Forms

• ˈbracteal, adjective
• ˈbractless, adjective

Other Words From

• brac·te·al [brak, -tee-, uh, l], adjective
• bracted adjective
• bractless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bract¹

1760–70; earlier bractea < Latin: a thin plate of metal

Word History and Origins

Origin of bract¹

C18: from New Latin bractea , Latin: thin metal plate, gold leaf, variant of brattea , of obscure origin

Example Sentences

The male flowers grow in catkins, each arising from a scaly bract, and have a green perianth.

From Project Gutenberg

This bract, when dead, is bent near the middle and more or less twisted, with the edges curving toward the cluster of nuts.

From Project Gutenberg

This bract has attracted a good deal of attention, and for a long time everybody wondered what could be its use.

From Project Gutenberg

The little fruit is hung from a broad, flying bract, and as it very slowly sinks to the ground it solemnly turns round and round.

From Project Gutenberg

That is because the pressure of the air acts on the flat bract just as it does on an aeroplane, and forces it to revolve.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• frond
• needle
• petal
• stalk