n.
Pronunciation: ' st ō -m ə
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural sto · ma · ta \ -m ə -t ə \ also stomas
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek stomat-, stoma mouth
Date: circa 1684
1 : any of various small simple bodily openings especially in a lower animal
2 : one of the minute openings in the epidermis of a plant organ (as a leaf) through which gaseous interchange takes place also : the opening with its associated cellular structures
3 : an artificial permanent opening especially in the abdominal wall made in surgical procedures