petiole
Americannoun
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Botany. the slender stalk by which a leaf is attached to the stem; leafstalk.
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Zoology. a stalk or peduncle, as that connecting the abdomen and thorax in wasps.
noun
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the stalk by which a leaf is attached to the rest of the plant
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zoology a slender stalk or stem, such as the connection between the thorax and abdomen of ants
Etymology
Origin of petiole
1745–55; < New Latin petiolus leafstalk, special use of Latin petiolus, scribal variant of peciolus, probably for *pediciolus, diminutive of pediculus pedicle
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The abdomen and cephalothorax of spiders are closely attached, while in ants the equivalent of these body parts are separated by a narrow segment called the petiole," Poinar said.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 22, 2024
There is also an intense labour requirement involved in gathering petiole samples — this kind of testing requires trained personnel.
From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2023
Choosing the wrong petiole can lead to misleading outcomes, obscuring the true nutritional state of the plant.
From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2023
Right photo shows a fan-shaped ginkgo leaf, which has veins radiating out from the petiole.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
Less glabrate; root-leaves oblong, spatulate, or lanceolate, narrowed to the petiole, serrate, the upper lyrate-pinnatifid; heads rather small and numerous.—Common.
From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa
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.
