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palea

[ pey-lee-uh ]
/ ˈpeɪ li ə /
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noun, plural pa·le·ae [pey-lee-ee]. /ˈpeɪ liˌi/.
a chafflike scale or bract.
the scalelike, membranous organ in the flowers of grasses that is situated upon a secondary axis in the axil of the flowering glume and envelops the stamens and pistil.
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Origin of palea

1745–55; <New Latin, special use of Latin palea chaff

OTHER WORDS FROM palea

pa·le·a·ceous [pey-lee-ey-shuhs], /ˌpeɪ liˈeɪ ʃəs/, pa·le·ate [pey-lee-it, ‐eyt], /ˈpeɪ li ɪt, ‐ˌeɪt/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use palea in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for palea

palea

pale

/ (ˈpeɪlɪə) /

noun plural paleae (ˈpeɪlɪˌiː) or pales botany
the inner of two bracts surrounding each floret in a grass spikeletCompare lemma 1
any small membranous bract or scale

Derived forms of palea

paleaceous (ˌpeɪlɪˈeɪʃəs), adjective

Word Origin for palea

C18: from Latin: straw, chaff; see pallet 1
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 palea

palea
[ pālēə ]

Plural paleae (lē-ē′)
The inner or upper of the two bracts enclosing one of the small flowers within a grass spikelet.
The chaffy scales on the receptacle of a flower head in a plant of the composite family.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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