pinna

[pin-uh]

noun

plural

pinnae, pinnas 

1. Botany.,  one of the primary divisions of a pinnate leaf.

2. Zoology.

   1. a feather, wing, or winglike part.

   2. a fin or flipper.

3. Anatomy.,  auricle.

pinna

/ ˈpɪnə /

noun

1. any leaflet of a pinnate compound leaf

2. zoology a feather, wing, fin, or similarly shaped part

3. another name for auricle

pinna

plural

pinnae 

1. A leaflet or primary division of a pinnately compound leaf, especially of a fern frond.

Other Word Forms

• pinnal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pinna¹

1660–70; < Latin: feather, wing, fin

Word History and Origins

Origin of pinna¹

C18: via New Latin from Latin: wing, feather, fin

Example Sentences

The researchers call transients Orcinus rectipinnus, noting that, in Latin, “recti means right or upright, and pinna means fin, feather, or wing, most likely referring to the tall erect dorsal fin of males.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Their ear flaps, or pinnae, can independently rotate forward, backward, and sideways to zero in on a sound’s location.

Read more on National Geographic

Researchers have found a new protozoan, Haplosporidium pinnae, in dead and dying mussels.

Read more on Science Magazine

In recent weeks, tests confirmed the same parasite, Haplosporidium pinnae, is responsible for pen shell die-offs in parts of Greece, and researchers have reported mass mortality as far east as Turkey and Cyprus.

Read more on Washington Times

Humans do have weak vestigial muscles attached to the shell of the ear, called the auricle or pinna, as well as evidence of a vestigial nervous system, which could have functioned to orient the ears.

Read more on New York Times

Related Words

• brochure 
• flier 
• handbill 
• handout 
• pamphlet