PETIOLE

petiole, leafstalk

(noun) the slender stem that supports the blade of a leaf

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

petiole (plural petioles)

(botany) The stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem.

Synonym: pedicel (stalk of a flower)

(entomology, insect anatomy) A narrow or constricted segment of the body of an insect; especially, the metasomal segment of certain Hymenoptera, such as wasps.

Synonym: pedicel (used more generally, of arthropods)

(entomology) The stalk at the base of the nest of the paper wasp.

Usage notes

• The presence of a petiole (narrow body segment) is the defining characteristic distinguishing the suborder Apocrita (ants, bees and wasps) from the rest of order Hymenoptera (i.e, from the paraphyletic suborder Symphyta).

Source: Wiktionary

Pet"i*ole, n. Etym: [F. pétiole, fr. L. petiolus a little foot, a fruit stalk; cf. pes, pedis, a foot.]

1. (Bot.)

Definition: A leafstalk; the footstalk of a leaf, connecting the blade with the stem. See Illust. of Leaf.

2. (Zoöl.)

Definition: A stalk or peduncle.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition