pinna

American  

[pin-uh] / ˈpɪn ə /

noun

plural

pinnae, pinnas

1. Botany. one of the primary divisions of a pinnate leaf.

2. Zoology.

   1. a feather, wing, or winglike part.

   2. a fin or flipper.

3. Anatomy. auricle.

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pinna British  

/ ˈpɪnə /

noun

1. any leaflet of a pinnate compound leaf

2. zoology a feather, wing, fin, or similarly shaped part

3. another name for auricle

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pinna Scientific  

/ pĭn′ə /

plural

pinnae

1. A leaflet or primary division of a pinnately compound leaf, especially of a fern frond.

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Other Word Forms

• pinnal adjective

Etymology

Origin of pinna

1660–70; < Latin: feather, wing, fin

Example Sentences

The researchers call transients Orcinus rectipinnus, noting that, in Latin, “recti means right or upright, and pinna means fin, feather, or wing, most likely referring to the tall erect dorsal fin of males.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2024

Without the malleus and incus, sound waves would not be collected by the pinna.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The leaflet, or pinna, of the glade fern is quite coarse and contrasts strikingly with its wispier neighbor.

From Washington Post • Jul. 8, 2015

The mastoid portion of the temporal bone, which can be felt as a bump in the skull behind the pinna, also contains air, which ventilates through the middle ear.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

“And after all, didn’t somebody just make up the word pinna, too?”

From "Frindle" by Andrew Clements

Related Words

• brochure
• flier
• handbill
• handout
• pamphlet