pappus

1. 1.

   calyx composed of scales or bristles or featherlike hairs in plants of the Compositae such as thistles and dandelions

   Broadercalyx

   Narrowerthistledown

Other forms of pappus

plural

pappi

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about pappus

What does pappus mean?

pappus means "calyx composed of scales or bristles or featherlike hairs in plants of the Compositae such as thistles and dandelions".

How many syllables are in pappus?

pappus has 2 syllables: pap-pus. The stress falls on "pap".

Is pappus a common word?

pappus is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.