stipe

UK: /staɪp/ US: (stīp)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

stipe (stīp),  n. 

1. Botany a stalk or slender support, as the petiole of a fern frond, the stem supporting the pileus of a mushroom, or a stalklike elongation of the receptacle of a flower.
2. Botany, Zoology [Zool.] a stemlike part, as a footstalk;
   stalk.

• Latin stīpes post, tree trunk or branch, log
• French
• 1775–85

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

stipe / staɪp/ noun

1. a stalk in plants that bears reproductive structures, esp the stalk bearing the cap of a mushroom
2. the stalk that bears the leaflets of a fern or the thallus of a seaweed
3. any stalklike part; stipes

Etymology: 18th Century: via French from Latin stīpes tree trunk; related to Latin stīpāre to pack closely; see stiff