pileus

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English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pīleus, a form of pilleus (a felt cap).

Pronunciation

Noun

pileus (plural pilei)

  1. (mycology) The cap of a mushroom.
    Meronym: hymenium
    • 1903, George Francis Atkinson, chapter VII, in Studies of American Fungi. Mushrooms, Edible, Poisonous, etc., 2nd edition, New York: Henry Holt:
      The stem is easily separable from the pileus at its junction, in this respect being similar to Amanita, Amanitopsis, Lepiota and others.
    • 1994, Barry H. Rumack, David G. Spoerke, Handbook of Mushroom Poisoning: Diagnosis and Treatment, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 75:
      One must check the size and shape of the pileus as well as its color. Many weird and unexpected shapes are found in the mushroom kingdom.
  2. The bell of a jellyfish.
  3. (meteorology) A small thin cloud attached to a cumulus cloud.
    Synonyms: cap cloud, scarf cloud
    Hypernym: accessory cloud
    • 2011, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, The Cloud Collector's Handbook, Hachette UK, →ISBN:
      The most short-lived of all the accessory clouds, pileus is also the most beautiful.
  4. (historical, Ancient Rome) A conical felt hat worn in Ancient Rome and Greece.
    Coordinate term: Phrygian cap
    • 1859, William Smith, editor, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, page 920:
      Among the Romans the cap of felt was the emblem of liberty. When a slave obtained his freedom he had his head shaved, and wore instead of his hair an undyed pileus.
  5. The top of the head of a bird, from the bill to the nape.
    Synonyms: pileum, crown
    Coordinate term: crest

Translations

Further reading

Anagrams

Latin

Pronunciation

Noun

pīleus m (genitive pīleī); second declension

  1. Alternative spelling of pilleus

Declension

Second-declension noun.

singular plural
nominative pīleus pīleī
genitive pīleī pīleōrum
dative pīleō pīleīs
accusative pīleum pīleōs
ablative pīleō pīleīs
vocative pīlee pīleī

Descendants

  • Italian: pileo
  • Spanish: píleo

References