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sessile

[ses-il, -ahyl]

Origin

adjective

Botany. attached by the base, or without any distinct projecting support, as a leaf issuing directly from the stem.

Zoology. permanently attached; not freely moving.

Origin:
1715–25; < Latin sessilis fit for sitting on, low enough to sit on, dwarfish (said of plants), equivalent to sess(us) (past participle of sedēre to sit¹) + -ilis -ile

Related forms

ses·sil·i·ty

[se-sil-i-tee] , noun

pseu·do·ses·sile, adjective

sub·ses·sile, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Sessile is always a great word to know.

So is photosynthesis. Does it mean:

phylum of green, nonvascular, seedless plants comprised of true mosses, hornworts and liverworts

method of forming complex organic materials using sunlight as energy source

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Collins

World English Dictionary

sessile (ˈsɛsaɪl)

—*adj*
1.	(of flowers or leaves) having no stalk; growing directly from the stem
2.	(of animals such as the barnacle) permanently attached to a substratum

[C18: from Latin sēssilis concerning sitting, from sedēre to sit]

sessility

—n

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

sessile

1725, "adhering close to the surface," from L. sessilis "pertaining to sitting," from sessum, pp. of sedere "to sit" (see sedentary). Meaning "sedentary" first recorded 1860.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

sessile ses·sile (sěs'īl', -əl)
adj.
Permanently attached or fixed; not free-moving.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

sessile

(sěs'īl') Pronunciation Key

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Permanently attached or fixed and not free-moving, as corals and mussels.
Stalkless and attached directly at the base, as certain kinds of leaves and fruit.

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