Term
micropyle
Micropyle is nine letters and the ear reliably delivers about six of them. The first syllable is a long i written with an i, the last is a long i written with a y, and the o in between is barely there.
Greek mikros, small, and pyle, gate: a small gate. The same pyle is in Thermopylae, the hot gates of the pass. The trap is the last syllable, which rhymes with mile and is written with a y.
- Say
- MY-kroh-pile
- Letters
- M-I-C-R-O-P-Y-L-E
- Root
- Greek mikros, small, plus pyle, gate
- Meaning
- The micropyle is the tiny opening in the coats of an ovule through which the pollen tube enters. It survives in the seed as a minute pore, and it is usually where the radicle pushes out at germination.
5 spellings people arrive at by ear
- micrupylean unstressed vowel
- micrepylean unstressed vowel
- mikropieletwo changes at once
- mikropylea hard c
- macropylean unstressed vowel