PALEA Meaning of PALEA in English [ 'peɪlɪə ]■ noun ( plural ~e -lɪi: ) Botany the upper bract of the floret of a grass. Compare with lemma 2 .OriginC18: from L., lit. 'chaff'. Concise Oxford English vocab. Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка. 2004