plumule

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the embryonic shoot of a seed, situated above the cotyledons and developing into the stem and leaves

   After germination, the plumule grew upward while the radicle extended into the soil.

2. 2
   noun

   a small down feather or the soft aftershaft of a feather

   A soft plumule beneath the outer feather helped insulate the young bird.

From Latin plumula, 'little feather,' the diminutive of pluma, 'feather.' The botanical sense arose because the tiny folded shoot of a plant embryo was thought to resemble a small feather.

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