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sessile

sessile

1 9.9
Attached directly by the base without a stalk and unable to move
  • adjective
  • /ˈsɛsaɪl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sésil
  • There are sessile organisms, but most herbivores are out there moving.
  • sessile polyp
  • sessile organisms

Examples

  • The affected area was slightly raised, sessile, and well circumscribed.

    Academic text (2007)
  • In this case, the slightly different way in which sessile species use space is a key part of ecological resistance to invasion.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Like plants, for example, fungi are sessile and compete for space in order to control access to resources.

    Academic text (2008)
  • The shell provides strong protection against predation and desiccation in sessile marine animals such as oysters.

    Blog text (31)
  • Seagrasses are sessile, essentially integrating the relevant water quality attributes, such as chlorophyll and turbidity, that affect the light reaching their leaves.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Rocky shores are frequently disturbed by the pounding of strong waves, which dislodges patches of sessile organisms such as mussels from their mooring (Figure 1).

    Academic text (2008)
  • The coral reef is home to many sessile organisms that depend on being attached to the ocean floor.

  • The barnacles are sessile creatures that attach themselves firmly to the rocks along the coastline.

  • Oysters are sessile animals that remain in one place and filter feed from the water around them.

Synonyms

stalkless
vssessile
  • Specialized
7.3

Attached directly at the base without a small stem

includes animals and stresses being fixed and unable to move

Antonyms

81 2.7

Able to change or move easily

2 4.3

Something loose and not fixed to the thing it belongs to

vagile
  • Specialized
9.9

Able to move freely from one place to another

pedunculate
  • Specialized
9.9

Having a stalk that holds a flower or fruit

Compounds

sessile polyp
  • Specialized
8.9

A growth attached directly to a body surface without a stalk

A flowering plant that grows in forests with leaves without stems and red or purple flowers with a strong smell

Trillium sessile
  • Specialized
9.9

A North American woodland plant with leaves without stalks and red or purple flowers that have a strong smell

How Mobile

mobile
81 2.7
movable
13 2.5
sessile
  • Specialized
1 9.9
fixed
1.0
immobile
14 4.4

Surface Forms

sessile positive

Morphology

sessile = sess + ile

The element 'sess' is a non‑productive combining form (not a standalone English word), so learners cannot derive 'fixed in place' from familiar English morphemes.

Etymology

Sessile comes from the Latin sedere, which means 'to sit', and this same idea is in the English word sedentary. That's why a sessile plant or animal is fixed at its base without a stalk and cannot move freely.