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

Words nearby palea

palaver, Palawan, palazzo, palazzo pants, pale, palea, palearctic, pale chrysanthemum aphid, pale-dry, paleencephalon, paleethnology

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

How to use palea in a sentence

Pareah (Palea) seems to have been the principal instrument in bringing about this fatal disaster.
A Narrative of the Death of Captain James Cook|David Samwell
The fourth glume and its palea adhere together by their margins.
A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses|Rai Bahadur K. Ranga Achariyar
Grain is free and enclosed by the hardened fourth glume and its palea.
A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses|Rai Bahadur K. Ranga Achariyar
On the other face of the grain which is towards the palea, the hilum is seen at the base.
A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses|Rai Bahadur K. Ranga Achariyar

The grain is oblong, free within the hardened glume and its palea.
A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses|Rai Bahadur K. Ranga Achariyar

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

[ pā′lēə ]

Plural paleae (pā′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.