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bract

[ brakt ]
/ brækt /
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noun Botany.
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

OTHER WORDS FROM bract

brac·te·al [brak-tee-uhl], /ˈbræk ti əl/, adjectivebracted, adjectivebractless, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bract in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bract

bract
/ (brækt) /

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

Derived forms of bract

bracteal, adjectivebractless, adjective

Word Origin for bract

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for bract

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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