ˈpalˌmē, ˈpäˌm-, -mī noun plural
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, plural of Latin palma palm
: a family (coextensive with the order Palmales) of chiefly tropical trees, shrubs, and vines comprising the palms, having a usually tall columnar trunk that lacks a cambium and is therefore incapable of true secondary growth and bears a crown of very large leaves with stout sheathing and often prickly petioles whose persistent bases often clothe the trunk, and producing small flowers in very large clusters each subtended by a spathe