Nearby Words

petal

[pet-l] Origin

pet·al

[pet-l]
noun
one of the often colored segments of the corolla of a flower.


Origin:
1695–1705; < Neo-Latin petalum petal, Latin: metal plate < Greek pétalon a thin plate, leaf, noun use of neuter of pétalos spread out, akin to petannýnai to be open, Latin patēre to stand open (see patent)

pet·al·age, noun
pet·aled, pet·alled, adjective
pet·al·less, adjective
pet·al·like, adjective
un·pet·aled, adjective
EXPAND
un·pet·alled, adjective
COLLAPSE

pedal, peddle, petal.

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Petal is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

-petal

a combining form meaning “seeking, moving toward” that specified by the initial element, used in the formation of compound words: acropetal.

Origin:
< Neo-Latin -pet(us) seeking, derivative of Latin petere to seek + -al1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To petal
Collins
World English Dictionary
petal (ˈpɛtəl)
 
n
any of the separate parts of the corolla of a flower: often brightly coloured
 
[C18: from New Latin petalum, from Greek petalon leaf; related to petannunai to lie open]
 
'petaline
 
adj
 
'petal-like
 
adj
 
'petalled
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

petal
1726, from Mod.L. petalum "petal" (1649), from Gk. petalon "leaf, thin plate," originally neut. of adj. petalos "outspread, broad, flat," from PIE base *pet- "to spread out."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

-petal suff.
Moving toward: basipetal.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
petal   (pět'l)  Pronunciation Key 
One of the often brightly colored parts of a flower surrounding the reproductive organs. Petals are attached to the receptacle underneath the carpels and stamens and may be separate or joined at their bases. As a group, the petals are called the corolla. See more at flower.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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