STIGMA (stigmata)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: stigmata   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does stigma mean? 

• STIGMA (noun)
  The noun STIGMA has 4 senses:

1. the apical end of the style where deposited pollen enters the pistil

2. a symbol of disgrace or infamy

3. an external tracheal aperture in a terrestrial arthropod

4. a skin lesion that is a diagnostic sign of some disease

  Familiarity information: STIGMA used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STIGMA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The apical end of the style where deposited pollen enters the pistil

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

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

reproductive structure (the parts of a plant involved in its reproduction)

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

style ((botany) the narrow elongated part of the pistil between the ovary and the stigma)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A symbol of disgrace or infamy

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

brand; mark; stain; stigma

Context example:

And the Lord set a mark upon Cain

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

symbol (an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significance)

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

demerit (a mark against a person for misconduct or failure; usually given in school or armed forces)

bar sinister; bend sinister (a mark of bastardy; lines from top right to bottom left)

cloven foot; cloven hoof (the mark of Satan)

Derivation:

stigmatic (pertaining to or resembling or having stigmata)

stigmatize (to accuse or condemn or openly or formally or brand as disgraceful)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An external tracheal aperture in a terrestrial arthropod

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

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

spiracle (a breathing orifice)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A skin lesion that is a diagnostic sign of some disease

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

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

blemish; defect; mar (a mark or flaw that spoils the appearance of something (especially on a person's body))

 Context examples 

Do not return to your families with the stigma of disgrace marked on your brows.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Stigma is part of the reason why mental health services are not well developed in many countries, the report said.

(Half of mental health disorders arise in adolescence, SciDev.Net)

On the other hand, I was brought up with a horror of cowardice and with a terror of such a stigma.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was stigma enough in the fact of it, but shamelessly to flaunt it in the face of the world—her world—was going too far.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The research shows that anther rubbing causes self‑pollen deposition on stigmas and is sufficient to achieve maximal reproductive output, with values similar to those achieved by artificial pollination or outcrossing fertilization.

(Some plants are capable of ‘rubbing’ themselves for hours in order to achieve self fertilization, University of Granada)

The last resource, which includes online interventions, could be particularly appropriate, the WHO said, due to the stigma attached to mental health issues, which may prevent some young adults from seeking help.

(Half of mental health disorders arise in adolescence, SciDev.Net)

That delicately bronzed skin, almost oriental in its coloring, that raven hair, the large liquid eyes, the full but exquisite lips,—all the stigmata of passion were there.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The mechanism consists of coordinated movements, repeated for hours, of the anthers (the end of the stamen, the part of the flower in which pollen is produced) over the stigma (the flower’s female reproductive system).

(Some plants are capable of ‘rubbing’ themselves for hours in order to achieve self fertilization, University of Granada)