compound leaf

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noun

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.

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Origin of compound leaf

First recorded in 1875–80

Words nearby compound leaf

compound flower, compound fraction, compound fracture, compound interest, compound interval, compound leaf, compound lens, compound magnet, compound microscope, compound number, compound ovary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use compound leaf in a sentence

He scrambled outside to find a 25-foot-wide crater just beyond the mud wall surrounding his family compound.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan|Umar Farooq|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Less than 30 minutes after the firefight started, commandos entered the compound and found the mortally wounded hostages.
Did U.S. Policy Get Luke Somers Killed?|Shane Harris|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They say that the Israelis framed him in order to light the powder keg of religious war over the al-Aqsa compound.
In Jerusalem Home Demolitions, the Biblical Justice of Revenge|Creede Newton|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Holy City, specifically the al-Aqsa compound, has been the flashpoint for the latest round of conflict.
The Radicals Who Slaughtered a Synagogue|Creede Newton|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Now the lead breacher explained how he cut through the steel doors bin Laden used to seal himself into the compound at night.
I Shot Bin Laden|Elliot Ackerman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He, with others, thinking the miss-sahib had gone to church, was smoking the hookah of gossip in a neighboring compound.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
They held the compound against repeated assaults, and lost several men in hand-to-hand fighting.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
Passing a bungalow that was blazing furiously, he saw in the compound the corpses of two women.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
Not a zephyr ruffled the leaf of a rose, and a soft breathing fragrance bathed his reposing senses.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
Hitherto, I have not given the subject much consideration, but I turn over a new leaf from the date of this adventure.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley

British Dictionary definitions for compound leaf

compound leaf

noun

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

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 compound leaf

compound leaf

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