plumule
/ˈpluːmjuːl
/noun
1 Botany The rudimentary shoot or stem of an embryo plant.The embryo epidermis, the plumule and the radicle tissues were never probed....
- Radicles or plumules were excised from the embryos and similarly incubated.
2 Ornithology A bird’s down feather, numbers of which form an insulating layer under the contour feathers.The second group includes down feathers, or plumules, which are softer and shorter than contour feathers....
- Geese are larger than ducks so their down plumules are larger and typically geese from colder climates such as central and northern Europe have the largest plumules.
Derivatives
plumulaceous
sense 2.
plumular
(in sense 1).
Origin
Early 18th century: from French plumule or Latin plumula 'small feather', diminutive of pluma 'down'.
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