petiole

English

WOTD – 11 January 2012
Petioles between leaves and stalk.

Etymology

Borrowed from French pétiole, and its source, Late Latin petiolus (little foot), diminutive form of Latin pes.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈpɛtɪəʊl/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈpɛdiˌoʊl/

Noun

petiole (plural petioles)

  1. (botany) The stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem.
  2. (entomology) A narrow or constricted segment of the body of an insect. Used especially to refer to the metasomal segment of Hymenoptera such as wasps.
  3. (entomology) The stalk at the base of the nest of the paper wasp.

Synonyms

  • (segment of the body of an insect): pedicel

Derived terms

Translations

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