stoma
UK /ˈstəʊmə/ · US /ˈstoʊmə/ noun
Forms stomata stomas
- noun (botany) One of the tiny pores in the epidermis of a leaf or stem through which gases and water vapor pass.
- noun (medicine, surgery) A small opening in a membrane; a surgically constructed opening, especially one in the abdominal wall that permits the passage of waste after a colostomy or ileostomy; an artificial anus.
- noun (zoology) A mouthlike opening, such as the oral cavity of a nematode.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from New Latin stoma, from Ancient Greek στόμα (stóma, “mouth”).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “stoma”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details