American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One of the often brightly colored parts of a flower immediately surrounding the reproductive organs; a division of the corolla.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In botany, a corollaleaf; one of the individual parts of a corolla in which they are distinct.
- n. In zoology, a petaloid ambulacrum, as that of a spatangoid or clypeastroid sea-urchin. See cuts under ambulacrum and petalostichous.
- n. botany one of the component parts of the corolla of a flower, when this consists of separate parts, that is it is not fused. Petals are often brightly colored.
- n. Term of endearment.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Bot.) One of the leaves of the corolla, or the colored leaves of a flower. See corolla, and
- n. (Zoöl.) One of the expanded ambulacra which form a rosette on the black of certain Echini.
- n. part of the perianth that is usually brightly colored
- From Ancient Greek πέταλον (petalon). (Wiktionary)
- New Latin petalum, from Greek petalon, leaf. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
“Also I have accepted the term petal -- but never the word lip -- as applied to flowers.”
“The first petal is aligned with Mecca, to the Southwest of the project site.”
“Moving clockwise at the top of the ZPO Tower, the second petal is directed toward the old town of Deira, a neighborhood of traditional souks, mosques, old fortress walls and wind towers.”
“Like with the Flower one petal is a dragonfly wing, what is the other image in the smoke?”
“And yet, he makes us think that an artichoke petal is a person, and imbues that person with so much expression, simply by means of mechanical movement.”
“He took a silk rose with the American flag screen printed on each petal from a wreath on the grave.”
“The centre of the outer line of each petal is drawn out at the edge like the tails on the under wings of the Luna moth.”
“Each large outer petal is curved and cup-shaped, yet each has its finishing point which makes the blossom starry, and these eight inner”
“But this is not strictly correct; for instance, suppose a petal, which is very generally merely the sheath of”
“She bent her cheek above the blossom, and whether the cheek or the petal were the redder, who should say?”