axil

American  

[ak-sil] / ˈæk sɪl /

noun

Botany.

1. the angle between the upper side of a leaf or stem and the supporting stem or branch.

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axil British  

/ ˈæksɪl /

noun

1. the angle between the upper surface of a branch or leafstalk and the stem from which it grows

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axil Scientific  

/ ăk′sĭl /

1. The angle between the upper side of a leaf or stem and the stem or branch that supports it. A bud is usually found in the axil.

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Etymology

Origin of axil

First recorded in 1785–95, axil is from the Latin word axilla armpit

Example Sentences

From the axil of this leaf, that is, between it and the primary axis a1 arises a secondary axis a2, ending in a flower f2, and producing a leaf about the middle.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5 "Fleury, Claude" to "Foraker" by Various

And this is here stronger than the others, and grows into a branch which is considerably out of the axil, while the lower and smaller ones commonly do not grow at all.

From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Gray, Asa

A small hole will be found near the axil of a leaf; this turns with the twig, and often extends several inches along the pith.

From American Pomology Apples by Warder, J. A.

Flowers diœcious or polygamous, collected in terminal heads, each in the axil of a scaly bract, and with 5 or 6 thin and scarious imbricated bractlets, but no proper calyx.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

One was in the axil of a leaf of a Xanthosoma.

From Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Peten, Guatemala by Duellman, William E.