pinnule

[ pin-yool ]

/ ˈpɪn yul /

noun

Zoology.

a part or organ resembling a barb of a feather, a fin, or the like.
a finlet.

Botany. a secondary pinna, one of the pinnately disposed divisions of a bipinnate leaf.

a metal plate with a small hole in it, used as a sight in a quadrant.

Nearby words

pinner, pinnigrade, pinniped, pinnula, pinnulate, pinnule, pinny, pinocchio, pinocchio, the adventures of, pinochet, pinochet ugarte

Origin of pinnule

1585–95; < Latin pinnula pinnula

Related forms

pin·nu·lar

[pin-yuh-ler] /ˈpɪn yə lər/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pinnule

The sori are in the form of lines which branch out from the lower part of the pinnule in a fan-shaped manner.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
Sporangia in oblong sori under a reflexed tooth of a pinnule; indusium broad; rachis dark and shining.
The Fern Lover's Companion|George Henry Tilton
They occur about midway between the central vein of the pinnule and the margin of the leaf.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
Pinnule, a secondary division of a bipinnate or tripinnate leaf, 66.
The Elements of Botany|Asa Gray

The index reference for "Pinnule" should probably be 59, rather than 66, but was not changed.
The Elements of Botany|Asa Gray

British Dictionary definitions for pinnule

pinnule

pinnula (ˈpɪnjʊlə)

/ (ˈpɪnjuːl) /

noun plural pinnules or pinnulae (ˈpɪnjʊˌliː)

any of the lobes of a leaflet of a pinnate compound leaf, which is itself pinnately divided

zoology any feather-like part, such as any of the arms of a sea lily

Derived Forms

pinnular, adjective

Word Origin for pinnule

C16: from Latin pinnula, diminutive of pinna feather

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

Science definitions for pinnule

pinnule

[ pĭn′yōōl ]

Any of the smaller leaflets into which each leaflet of a bipinnately compound leaf is subdivided. The leaves of many ferns are divided into pinnules.