pileus
Americannoun
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Mycology. the horizontal portion of a mushroom, bearing gills, tubes, etc., on its underside; a cap.
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Zoology.
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the umbrella or bell of a jellyfish.
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Also called cap cloud. Also called scarf cloud. Meteorology. a small, thin cloud just above or attached to a growing cumulus cloud.
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a felt skullcap worn by the ancient Romans and Greeks.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pileus
1750–60; < New Latin, special use of Latin pīleus skullcap; akin to Greek pîlos felt, felt cap
Vocabulary lists containing pileus
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.
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This species is unique for the dorsal attachment of its stipe to the top of the pileus, and the abundant cystidia covering all surfaces of the fruiting body.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2025
The reverse features two daggers on either side of a cap known as a pileus.
From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2023
A cumulus, for example, might just be a cumulus; or it might be a cumulus fractus, if its edges are tattered; or a cumulus pileus, if a smaller cloud appears over it like a hood.
From New York Times ● May 4, 2016
Universal veil glutinous, hence pileus and scarcely bulbous stem viscid.
From European Fungus Flora: Agaricaceae by Massee, George
When the word biretum first appears in the 13th century, it practically means no more than “cap,” and is used as a synonym of pileus.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various
There are many pilei growing one above the other, plane, margin straight, whole.
From The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Its Habitat and its Time of Growth by Hard, Miron Elisha
Figure 375 represents one of the pilei showing the spines.
From The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Its Habitat and its Time of Growth by Hard, Miron Elisha
It grows on the ground, and when young and fresh the pilei are said to be good.
From The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Its Habitat and its Time of Growth by Hard, Miron Elisha
P. up to 1 cm. convex, papillate, grey, subtomentose; g. adnate; s. 3-5 cm. base dark, springing from a blackish sclerotium; several minute stems with abortive pilei often spring from the stem; sp.
From European Fungus Flora: Agaricaceae by Massee, George
Their radiately cracked pilei, with the inner substance showing yellow through the cracks, will help to distinguish the species.
From The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Its Habitat and its Time of Growth by Hard, Miron Elisha
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.
