FOLIAGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does foliage mean? 

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

1. the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants

2. (architecture) leaf-like architectural ornament

  Familiarity information: FOLIAGE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FOLIAGE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

foliage; leaf; leafage

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

plant organ (a functional and structural unit of a plant or fungus)

Meronyms (parts of "foliage"):

leaf form; leaf shape (any of the various shape that leaves of plants can assume)

venation ((botany) the arrangement of veins in a leaf)

lobe ((botany) a part into which a leaf is divided)

Meronyms (substance of "foliage"):

parenchyma (the primary tissue of higher plants composed of thin-walled cells that remain capable of cell division even when mature; constitutes the greater part of leaves, roots, the pulp of fruits, and the pith of stems)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "foliage"):

simple leaf (a leaf that is not divided into parts)

rosette (a cluster of leaves growing in crowded circles from a common center or crown (usually at or close to the ground))

prickly-edged leaf (a leaf having prickly margins)

parted leaf (a leaf having margins incised almost to the base so as to create distinct divisions or lobes)

parallel-veined leaf (a leaf whose veins run in parallel from the stem)

lobed leaf (a leaf having deeply indented margins)

runcinate leaf (a leaf having incised margins with the lobes or teeth curved toward the base; as a dandelion leaf)

erose leaf (a leaf having a jagged margin as though gnawed)

emarginate leaf (a leaf having a notch at the apex)

dentate leaf (a leaf having a toothed margin)

serrate leaf (a leaf having a margin notched like a saw with teeth pointing toward the apex)

crenate leaf (a leaf having a scalloped margin)

entire leaf (a leaf having a smooth margin without notches or indentations)

compound leaf (a leaf composed of a number of leaflets on a common stalk)

cataphyll (a reduced or scarcely developed leaf at the start of a plant's life (i.e., cotyledons) or in the early stages of leaf development)

fig leaf (a leaf from a fig tree)

betel; betel leaf (a leaf of a vine from the betel pepper)

scale; scale leaf (a specialized leaf or bract that protects a bud or catkin)

pad (the large floating leaf of an aquatic plant (as the water lily))

frond (compound leaf of a fern or palm or cycad)

leaflet (part of a compound leaf)

greenery; verdure (green foliage)

amplexicaul leaf (a leaf with its base clasping the stem)

blade; leaf blade (especially a leaf of grass or the broad portion of a leaf as distinct from the petiole)

sporophyl; sporophyll (leaf in ferns and mosses that bears the sporangia)

pitcher ((botany) a leaf that that is modified in such a way as to resemble a pitcher or ewer)

dandelion green (the foliage of the dandelion plant)

floral leaf (a modified leaf that is part of a flower)

Derivation:

foliate (grow leaves)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(architecture) leaf-like architectural ornament

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

foliage; foliation

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

architectural ornament ((architecture) something added to a building to improve its appearance)

Domain category:

architecture (the discipline dealing with the principles of design and construction and ornamentation of fine buildings)

Derivation:

foliate (decorate with leaves)

 Context examples 

Round this clearing there was a semi-circle of trees with curious huts built of foliage piled one above the other among the branches.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Two little rivers, or rather two swamps, emptied out into this pond, as you might call it; and the foliage round that part of the shore had a kind of poisonous brightness.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

I gradually saw plainly the clear stream that supplied me with drink and the trees that shaded me with their foliage.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

It was not restful, that green foliage.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The essential oil extracted from the foliage of Juniperus oxycedrus.

(Juniperus oxycedrus Leaf Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

The regions were analyzed by distribution of foliage, tree height, and the sizes of the spaces between trees and stands.

(Researchers find preserving spotted owl habitat may not require a tradeoff with wildfire risk after all, Wikinews)

The essential oil extracted from the foliage and twigs of Melaleuca viridiflora.

(Niaouli Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

LiDAR bounced pulsed laser light off the ground, revealing contours hidden by dense foliage in the 2,100-square-kilometer mapped area.

(Hidden Mayan Civilization Revealed in Guatemala Jungle, VOA)

The cat sprang nimbly up a tree, and sat down at the top of it, where the branches and foliage quite concealed her.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

There was none: all was interwoven stem, columnar trunk, dense summer foliage—no opening anywhere.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)