axil

[ ak-sil ]

nounBotany.

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

Origin of axil

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

Words Nearby axil

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use axil in a sentence

The specimen from Chinaj was found in water in the axil of a large elephant-ear plant (Xanthosoma) by day in March.
Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Peten, Guatemala | William E. Duellman
A lateral bud is one situated on the side of a twig in the axil of a leaf-scar.
Michigan Trees | Charles Herbert Otis
Rising out of the axil of each leaf are buds, of graduated size and development up to the open blossom.
A Bird-Lover in the West | Olive Thorne Miller
In every bud examined which contained a flower, there was an axillary bud in the axil of the last, or next to the last, leaf.
Outlines of Lessons in Botany, Part I; From Seed to Leaf | Jane H. Newell
The flower-scar is on the summit of the axis, and often apparently in the axil of a branch, as in Horsechestnut.
Outlines of Lessons in Botany, Part I; From Seed to Leaf | Jane H. Newell

British Dictionary definitions for axil

axil

/ (ˈæksɪl) /

noun

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

Origin of axil

C18: from Latin axilla armpit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for axil

axil

[ ăk′sĭl ]

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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