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tepal

American  
[tee-puhl, tep-uhl] / ˈti pəl, ˈtɛp əl /

noun

Botany.

  1. one of the divisions of a flower perianth, especially one that is not clearly differentiated into petals and sepals, as in lilies and tulips.

tepal British  
/ ˈtiːpəl, ˈtɛpəl /

noun

  1. any of the subdivisions of a perianth that is not clearly differentiated into calyx and corolla

"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
tepal Scientific  
/ tē′pəl,tĕp′əl /

  1. A division of the perianth of a flower in which the sepals and petals are indistinguishable, as in tulips and lilies.

Etymology

Origin of tepal

< French tépale (1827), alteration of pétale petal, on the model of sépale sepal; coined by Augustin-Pierre de Candolle (1778–1841), Swiss botanist

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.

For example, the corolla in lilies and tulips consists of three sepals and three petals that look virtually identical—this led botanists to coin the word tepal.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013

Hun ahau; lahunkal hab cu tepal chicħen Ytza, ca paxi ca binob t cahtal chakanputun ti yanhi yotochob ahYtzaob kuyan uinicobi.

From The Maya Chronicles Brinton's Library Of Aboriginal American Literature, Number 1 by Brinton, Daniel Garrison

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.