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

Supra-axillary, borne above the axil, as some buds, 31.

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

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

One argument that has been adduced in support of the axillary bud theory is derived from the Palaeozoic type Cordaites, in which each ovule occurs on an axis borne in the axil of a bract.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 7 "Gyantse" to "Hallel" by Various

The black beetle makes its attacks when fully mature, eating its way into the soft tissues and generally selecting the axil of a young leaf as the point of least resistance.

From The Cocoanut With reference to its products and cultivation in the Philippines by Lyon, William S. (Scrugham)

Sterile and fertile flowers occupying different heads on the same plant; the fertile 1–3 together and sessile in the axil of leaves or bracts, at the base of the racemes or spikes of sterile heads.

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