pistil

[pis-tl]

noun Botany.

the ovule-bearing or seed-bearing female organ of a flower, consisting when complete of ovary, style, and stigma.

such organs collectively, where there are more than one in a flower.

a gynoecium.

Origin of pistil

1570–80; earlier pistillum, special use of Latin pistillum pestle

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

Examples from the Web for pistil

Historical Examples of pistil

At the centre is the pistil, one or more, which forms the ultimate fruit.
My Studio Neighbors
William Hamilton Gibson
The pistil is divided into three parts, ovary, style, and stigma.
My Studio Neighbors
William Hamilton Gibson
The pistil is generally divisible into the ovary or germen, the style and the stigma.
On the Origin of Species
Charles Darwin
Pistil: the part of the blossom that contains the immature seeds.
Agriculture for Beginners
Charles William Burkett
In the broom the pistil is rubbed on the centre of the back of the bee.
The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Volume II (of II)
Charles Darwin

British Dictionary definitions for pistil

pistil

noun

the female reproductive part of a flower, consisting of one or more separate or fused carpels; gynoecium

Word Origin for pistil

C18: from Latin pistillum pestle

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

Word Origin and History for pistil

"female organ of a flower," 1718, from French pistil, from Modern Latin pistillum "a pistil," so called from resemblance to a pestle, from Latin pistillum "pestle" (see pestle). Related: Pistillary; pistillaceous; pistillate; pistilline.

pistil in Science

pistil

[pĭs′təl]

One of the female reproductive organs of a flower, consisting of a single carpel or of several carpels fused together. A flower may have one pistil or more than one, though some flowers lack pistils and bear only the male reproductive organs known as stamens. See more at carpel flower.

pistil in Culture

pistil

[(pis-tuhl)]

The female part of a plant. In flowering plants, it is at the center of the flower. When fertilized with pollen, the pistil develops into fruit.