compound leaf

noun

1. a leaf composed of a number of leaflets on a common stalk, arranged either palmately, as the fingers of a hand, or pinnately, as the leaflets of a fern; the leaflets themselves may be compound.

compound leaf

noun

1. a leaf consisting of two or more leaflets borne on the same leafstalk

compound leaf

1. A leaf that is composed of two or more leaflets on a common stalk. Clover, roses, sumac, and walnut trees have compound leaves.

Word History and Origins

Origin of compound leaf¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Prue had taken one of these to be a complete leaf, when it was really only a part of one compound leaf divided into five parts.

From Project Gutenberg

A compound leaf is a leaf made up of several blades, like a bean leaf, which you know is divided into three parts.

From Project Gutenberg

New growth of the year green, and resembling a once-pinnate compound leaf and usually dropping off in the autumn like one.

From Project Gutenberg

Digitate (fingered), where the leaflets of a compound leaf are all borne on the apex of the petiole, 58.

From Project Gutenberg

At the base of the leaflets of a compound leaf, small stipules (stipels) are occasionally produced.

From Project Gutenberg