sessile

[ ses-il, -ahyl ]

adjective

1. Botany. attached by the base, or without any distinct projecting support, as a leaf issuing directly from the stem.
2. Zoology. permanently attached; not freely moving.

sessile

/ ˈsɛsaɪl; sɛˈsɪlɪtɪ /

adjective

1. (of flowers or leaves) having no stalk; growing directly from the stem
2. (of animals such as the barnacle) permanently attached to a substratum

sessile

/ sĕs′īl′ /

1. Permanently attached or fixed and not free-moving, as corals and mussels.
2. Stalkless and attached directly at the base, as certain kinds of leaves and fruit.

Derived Forms

• sessility, noun

Other Word Forms

• ses·sil·i·ty [se-, sil, -i-tee], noun
• pseudo·sessile adjective
• sub·sessile adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sessile¹

1715–25; < Latin sessilis fit for sitting on, low enough to sit on, dwarfish (said of plants), equivalent to sess ( us ) (past participle of sedēre to sit ¹ ) + -ilis -ile

Word History and Origins

Origin of sessile¹

C18: from Latin sēssilis concerning sitting, from sedēre to sit