Standard Lemma guide

rostellum

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • rhymes with -ɛləm

1

noun

Meaning 1

A small beak-like process or extension; a small rostrum.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • the rostellum of the stigma of violets, or of the operculum of many mosses

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A projecting part of the column in the flower of an orchid that separates the male stamen from the female gynoecium.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences

Examples

  • 1922, John Christopher Willis, "Orchidacea", entry in A Manual and Dictionary of the Flowering Plants and Ferns, page 471, The rostellum has an outer firm pouch, inside which is the viscid substance to which are firmly attached the caudicles of the pollinia. An insect entering the fl. probes the spur of the labellum and its back comes into contact with the rostellum and depresses the pouch, causing the viscid substance to adhere to the insect.
  • 2005, Orchids of Manitoba: A Field Guide, Native Orchid Conservation Inc., page 20, The third stigma is sterile and has developed into the rostellum, a sticky structure that aids in pollination by attaching the pollen to insects.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A retractable protruding part at the anterior end of a soft-bodied tapeworm; the scolex from which it protrudes is often armed with hooks which serve to keep it in place attached to the host.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Latin, diminutive of rostrum (“beak”).