petiole
/ˈpɛti.oʊl/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.47 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A narrow or constricted segment of the body of an insect; especially, the metasomal segment of certain Hymenoptera, such as wasps.
noun
The stalk at the base of the nest of the paper wasp.
Example Sentences
- "Most insects consume tissue from the leaf blade were measured just past the twist on the side away only, leaving the leaf petioles unscathed."
- "By contrast, the petioles of large pinnate leaves, as well as stems, typically resist torsion by placing stiff materials with high elastic moduli (like sclerenchyma) toward the perimeters of their cross sections."
- "An example of this is leaf petioles. Some species of trees have pinnate leaves which, when the leaves fall, shed pinnae from the petiole, which is then left as a tapering, somewhat flexible rod."
Etymology
Borrowed from French pétiole, and its source, Late Latin petiolus (“little foot”), diminutive form of Latin pēs (“foot”).
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɛti.oʊl/
- British English: /ˈpɛti.əʊl/
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Medicine.