n.
Pronunciation: p ə - ' ra-f ə -s ə s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -y · ses \ - ˌ s ē z \
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek, sucker, offshoot, from paraphyein to produce at the side, from para- + phyein to bring forth ― more at BE
Date: 1857
: one of the slender sterile filaments borne among the sporogenous or gametogenous organs in certain ferns, mosses, algae, and fungi