ALA (alae)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: alae   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ala mean? 

• ALA (noun)
  The noun ALA has 2 senses:

1. a flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism

2. a wing of an insect

  Familiarity information: ALA used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ALA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A flat wing-shaped process or winglike part of an organism

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Context example:

the flat petals of a pea blossom are alae

Hypernyms ("ala" is a kind of...):

appendage; outgrowth; process (a natural prolongation or projection from a part of an organism either animal or plant)

Derivation:

alary (having or resembling wings)

alate ((of seeds or insects) having winglike extensions)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A wing of an insect

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("ala" is a kind of...):

wing (a movable organ for flying (one of a pair))

Holonyms ("ala" is a part of...):

insect (small air-breathing arthropod)

Derivation:

alary (having or resembling wings)

alate ((of seeds or insects) having winglike extensions)

 Context examples 

A muscle originating from the cricoid arch on the anterior surface in which the posterior section runs outward to the thyroid's inferior horn and the anterior section runs upward to the thyroid's ala.

(Cricothyroid Muscle, NCI Thesaurus)

A condition of the newborn marked by dyspnea with cyanosis, heralded by such prodromal signs as dilatation of the alae nasi, expiratory grunt, and retraction of the suprasternal notch or costal margins, mostly frequently occurring in premature infants, children of diabetic mothers, and infants delivered by cesarean section, and sometimes with no apparent predisposing cause.

(Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)