/pet"ee ohl'/ , n.
1. Bot. the slender stalk by which a leaf is attached to the stem; leafstalk. See diag. under leaf .
2. Zool. a stalk or peduncle, as that connecting the abdomen and thorax in wasps.
[ 1745-55; petiolus leafstalk, special use of L petiolus, scribal var. of peciolus, prob. for * pediciolus, dim. of pediculus PEDICLE ]