Meanings
plural bracts · alternative bracte · alternative bractea
- biologyA leaf or leaf-like structure from the axil out of which a stalk of a flower or an inflorescence arises.
A Verticil or Whirl may be[…]Naked; that is without involucre, bracte or brittle. Bracted - or Involucred
1793, Thomas Martyn, The Language of Botany3 more examples
In this vegetable monster the bractes, or divisions of the spike, become wonderfully enlarged; and are converted into leaves.
1789, Erasmus Darwin, The Loves of the Plants, J. Johnson, page 9Great dense patches of them grew, four and five and six feet deep, impenetrable swathes of dark green bracts that advertised their danger.
2017, Benjamin Myers, The Gallows Pole, Bloomsbury, published 2019, page 31When you peel away the bracts and reveal the soft heart, you have reached what Ms. Eury called the most prized part of the artichoke.
2026 May 11, Amanda Schupak, “How Healthy Are Artichokes?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Origin
- Latinbractea“a thin plate of metal; gold leaf”
- Englishbract
From Latin bractea (“a thin plate of metal; gold leaf”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian прицветник
- прицветник (pricvetnik)leaf or leaf-like structure
Catalan bràctea
- bràctealeaf or leaf-like structure
Chinese Mandarin 苞片
- 苞片 (bāopiàn)leaf or leaf-like structure
Czech listen
- listenleaf or leaf-like structure
Dutch schutblad
- schutbladleaf or leaf-like structure
Esperanto brakteo
- brakteoleaf or leaf-like structure
Finnish suojuslehti
- suojuslehtileaf or leaf-like structure
French bractée
- bractéeleaf or leaf-like structure
German Tragblatt
- Tragblattleaf or leaf-like structure
Greek βράκτιο
- βράκτιο (vráktio)leaf or leaf-like structure
Hungarian murva, murvalevél
- murvaleaf or leaf-like structure
- murvalevélleaf or leaf-like structure
- fellevélleaf or leaf-like structure
- előlevélleaf or leaf-like structure
Italian brattea
- brattealeaf or leaf-like structure
Japanese 苞, 苞葉
- 苞 (hō)leaf or leaf-like structure
- 苞葉 (hōyō)leaf or leaf-like structure
Latin bractea
- bractealeaf or leaf-like structure
Māori emiemi
- emiemileaf or leaf-like structure
Polish przykwiatek
- przykwiatekleaf or leaf-like structure
Portuguese bráctea
- bráctealeaf or leaf-like structure
Romanian bractee
- bracteeleaf or leaf-like structure
Russian прицве́тник
- прицве́тник (pricvétnik)leaf or leaf-like structure
Spanish bráctea
- bráctealeaf or leaf-like structure
Welsh bract, blodeulen
- bractleaf or leaf-like structure
- blodeulenleaf or leaf-like structure
Cite this entry
bract. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bract
“bract.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bract. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bract,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bract.
Source: bract on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.