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• pili
  pili

  noun

  a Philippine tree, Canarium ovatum, the edible seeds of which taste like a sweet almond.
• pili-
  pili-

  a combining form meaning “hair,” used in the formation of compound words.

pili

¹ American  

[pee-lee] / piˈli /

noun

pilies plural

1. a Philippine tree, Canarium ovatum, the edible seeds of which taste like a sweet almond.

2. Also called pili nut.  the seed of this tree.

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pili ² American  

[pahy-lahy] / ˈpaɪ laɪ /

noun

1. Biology. plural of pilus.

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pili- ³ American  

1. a combining form meaning “hair,” used in the formation of compound words.

   piliform.

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pili ¹ British  

/ pɪˈliː /

noun

1. a burseraceous Philippine tree, Canarium ovatum, with edible seeds resembling almonds

2. Also called: pili nut.  the seed of this tree

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pili ² British  

/ ˈpaɪlɪ /

plural noun

1. bacteriol short curled hairlike processes on the surface of certain bacteria that are involved in conjugation and the attachment of the bacteria to other cells

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• pilies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pili¹

From Tagalog

Origin of pili-³

Combining form representing Latin pilus; see -i-

Example Sentences

Some phages make use of bacterial pili by attaching to them and allowing bacteria to reel the phage to the surface, where the phage can start infecting the bacteria.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2024

E. coli has many short arms, known as pili, which the bacterium uses to recognize its host's glycocalyx and cling onto it.

From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2024

Prof Helen Wallace is one of the world's leading authorities on the kenari, and its sister trees and nuts, the pili and galip.

From BBC • Nov. 23, 2022

Our leading hypothesis is that phages use CtrA to guesstimate when there will be enough bacteria nearby sporting pili and flagella that they can readily infect.

From Salon • Sep. 21, 2022

I mai kela, 'Alia wau e hooko i kau kumu pili a hoi mai wau mai kuu huakai kaapuni mai, alaila, hookoia ke kumu pili au e ke Alii wahine.'

From The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai by Beckwith, Martha Warren