plumule Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun down feather of young birds; persists in some adult birds

WordNet

Plu"mule noun
Etymology
L. plumula, dim. of pluma a feather; cf. F. plumule.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) The first bud, or gemmule, of a young plant; the bud, or growing point, of the embryo, above the cotyledons. See Illust. of Radicle. Gray.
  2. (Zoöl.) (a) A down feather. (b) The aftershaft of a feather. See Illust. under Feather. (c) One of the featherlike scales of certain male butterflies.

Webster 1913