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trifoliate

[trahy-foh-lee-it, -eyt]
adjective
  1. having three leaflets, lobes, or foils; trefoil.
  2. Botany. trifoliolate.
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Sometimes tri·fo·li·at·ed [trahy-foh-lee-ey-tid] /traɪˈfoʊ liˌeɪ tɪd/.

Origin of trifoliate

First recorded in 1690–1700; tri- + foliate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for trifoliate

Historical Examples of trifoliate

  • The leaves are trifoliate, though sometimes they grow singly.

    The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 13

    William Curtis

  • The stem of the plant is bushy and branched; the leaves are trifoliate.

  • Changed "trifoliate" to "trifoliolate" in the index entry for "Foliolate."

  • The trifoliate leaves are numerous, especially on the upper portions.

  • Again, the old furze-bush will have its leaves converted into spines, though the seedling started with a trifoliate leaf.

British Dictionary definitions for trifoliate

trifoliate

trifoliated

adjective
  1. having three leaves, leaflike parts, or (of a compound leaf) leaflets
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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