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coleoptile

American  
[koh-lee-op-til, kol-ee-] / ˌkoʊ liˈɒp tɪl, ˌkɒl i- /

noun

Botany.

  1. (in grasses) the first leaf above the ground, forming a sheath around the stem tip.

coleoptile British  
/ ˌkɒlɪˈɒptaɪl /

noun

  1. a protective sheath around the plumule in grasses

"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 Scientific  
/ kō′lē-ŏp′tĭl,kŏl′ē- /

  1. A protective sheath enclosing the shoot tip and embryonic leaves of grasses.

Etymology

Origin of coleoptile

1865–70; < New Latin coleoptilum < Greek koleó ( n ) sheath, scabbard + ptílon soft feathers, down

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.