Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A supporting stalk or stemlike structure, especially the stalk of a pistil, the petiole of a fern frond, or the stalk that supports the cap of a mushroom.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In botany, a stalk or support of some sort, the word being variously employed.
  • noun In anatomy, a stem: applied to two branches, anterior and posterior, of the zygal or paroccipital fissure of the brain.
  • noun In zoology, a stipes.
  • noun A steep ascent.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The stalk or petiole of a frond, as of a fern.
  • noun The stalk of a pistil.
  • noun The trunk of a tree.
  • noun The stem of a fungus or mushroom.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The stem of a mushroom, kelp, etc.
  • noun The trunk of a tree.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun supporting stalk or stem-like structure especially of a pistil or fern frond or supporting a mushroom cap

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Latin stīpes, post.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin stipes a stock, post, branch: compare French stipe.

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