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coleoptile

[koh-lee-op-til, kol-ee-]
noun Botany.
  1. (in grasses) the first leaf above the ground, forming a sheath around the stem tip.
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Origin of coleoptile

1865–70; < New Latin coleoptilum < Greek koleó(n) sheath, scabbard + ptílon soft feathers, down
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for coleoptile

coleoptile

noun
  1. a protective sheath around the plumule in grasses
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Word Origin

C19: from New Latin coleoptilum, from Greek koleon sheath + ptilon down, soft plumage
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
coleoptile in Science

coleoptile

[kō′lē-ŏp′tĭl, kŏl′ē-]
  1. A protective sheath enclosing the shoot tip and embryonic leaves of grasses.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.