vitta

American  

[vit-uh] / ˈvɪt ə /

noun

• vittae
  plural

1. Botany. a tube or receptacle for oil, occurring in the fruits of most plants of the parsley family.

2. Zoology, Botany. a streak or stripe, as of color.

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vitta British  

/ ˈvɪtə /

noun

1. any of numerous tubelike cavities containing oil or resin that occur in the fruits of certain plants, esp of parsley and other umbellifers

2. biology a band or stripe of colour

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• vittate
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vittae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vitta

1685–95; < Latin: ribbon, fillet, akin to viēre to weave together

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vitta vittae

Without the slightest discomposure, and absolutely unconscious of what he was doing, Marsyas gazed and listened until the vitta fell hastily over the face, the bird flew away and the garden incense died.

From Saul of Tarsus A Tale of the Early Christians by Elizabeth Miller

He took the hand from hers and put back the vitta that covered her hair.

From Saul of Tarsus A Tale of the Early Christians by Elizabeth Miller

Before Amaryllis could gather resolution to protest, she was out again, clothed in mantle and vitta and, walking swiftly, disappeared into the vestibule.

From The City of Delight A Love Drama of the Siege and Fall of Jerusalem by Frank X. Leyendecker

He laid a hand unsteady with its tremor of delight and young eagerness upon the vitta and it slipped off her hair.

From The City of Delight A Love Drama of the Siege and Fall of Jerusalem by Frank X. Leyendecker

Cells furnished with a narrow elongated band or vitta on each side, without fenestrae.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 1 by John MacGillivray

Cells elongated ovoid; avicularia large and projecting, without any superior appendage; vittae narrow, rather anterior.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 1 by John MacGillivray

Its leaves have a resemblance to those of a pæony; the fruit is distinguished by divided and interrupted vittae, which form a network on the surface.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds

The more distinctive characters are taken from the comparatively broad vittae, and the flat or cupped upper surface of the avicularia, which are usually continued downwards into a prominent ridge or ala.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 1 by John MacGillivray