vitta

[ vit-uh ]

noun

, plural vit·tae [vit, -ee].

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.

vitta

/ 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

Derived Forms

• ˈvittate, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of vitta¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of vitta¹

C17: from Latin: headband; related to viēre to plait

Example Sentences

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

From Project Gutenberg

Shall I recommend my young friend to wrap up the heads of his Vestals in a vitta?

From Project Gutenberg

Back of the abdomen of the male with an interrupted black vitta down the middle.

From Project Gutenberg

The decorative designs of the villa of Evian adorn the vestibule of the home of Baron Vitta.

From Project Gutenberg

Vitta (plural vitt), the oil-tubes of the fruit of Umbellifer.

From Project Gutenberg