bract
[brakt]
- a specialized leaf or leaflike part, usually situated at the base of a flower or inflorescence.
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Origin of bract
1760–70; earlier bractea < Latin: a thin plate of metal
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bract
Historical Examples
The lower part of the bract forms a sheath which encloses the ovary.
Vegetable TeratologyMaxwell T. Masters
Union of the leaf or bract with the flower-stalk is not uncommon.
Vegetable TeratologyMaxwell T. Masters
Br, The bract devoid of muscles and respiratory in function.
Diagram of Violet-flower; showing the relation of parts to bract and axis.
The Elements of BotanyAsa Gray
The bract and pedicels of the umbel all spring from the extremity of a peduncle 1½in.
bract
- a specialized leaf, usually smaller than the foliage leaves, with a single flower or inflorescence growing in its axil
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Word Origin
C18: from New Latin bractea, Latin: thin metal plate, gold leaf, variant of brattea, of obscure origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for bract
n.
in botany, "small leaf at the base of a flower," Modern Latin, from Latin bractea, literally "thin metal plate," of unknown origin. Related: Bracteal; bracteate.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
bract
[brăkt]
- 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.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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