/ ˈsepl; NAmE / noun
( technical ) a part of a flower, like a leaf, that lies under and supports the petals (= the delicate coloured parts that make up the head of the flower). Each flower has a ring of sepals called a calyx .
—picture at flower
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WORD ORIGIN
early 19th cent.: from French sépale , modern Latin sepalum , from Greek skepē covering, influenced by French pétale petal.