pistil

noun

pis·​til ˈpi-stᵊl How to pronounce pistil (audio)
: a single carpel or group of fused carpels usually differentiated into an ovary, style, and stigma see flower illustration

Examples of pistil in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Real weed may have orange or reddish pistils protruding from between the leaves. Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 26 Aug. 2023 Some new features of this year’s show include a mile-wide waving flag with red, white and blue palm and strobing shells and a sunflower ring with crackling pistil shells. Camille Fine, USA TODAY, 3 July 2023 The show will last 25 minutes and feature 30 different colors and shapes, including new effects for this year like a mile-wide waving flag and a sunflower ring with crackling pistil shells. Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 2 July 2023 The pistil of one flower is replaced by the lion's eye. Gabi Thorne, Allure, 2 Feb. 2022 The Rose Mantique necklace is a naturalistic expression featuring gold branches dusted with diamonds, colorful petals in garnets, amethysts, rhodolite, and Paraiba tourmalines, and a blue Myanmar sapphire pistil. Jill N Newman, Town & Country, 9 July 2021 When the pollen from one tree’s flower meets the pistil of the flower of another, a small miracle of creation occurs. Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 8 June 2020 Wash and shell the broad beans, clean the zucchini blossoms and remove the pistil, and wash and mince the wild fennel. Alisha Prakash, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2020 Martinez uses natural materials — bee pollen for yellow and tar for the pistils in paintings of sunflowers — to mix his own pigments. Deborah Martin, ExpressNews.com, 26 Feb. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pistil.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin pistillum, from Latin, pestle — more at pestle

First Known Use

1728, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pistil was in 1728

Dictionary Entries Near pistil

Cite this Entry

“Pistil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pistil. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pistil

noun
pis·​til ˈpis-tᵊl How to pronounce pistil (audio)
: the seed-producing part of a flower consisting usually of stigma, style, and ovary
Etymology

from scientific Latin pistillum "pistil," from Latin pistillum "pestle for grinding material in a mortar"

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