trifid
- adjective
- /ˈtrɪfɪd/
- Specialized
:
trifido
- The flower has trifid petals that distinguish it from other species.
Examples
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The trifid leaves made identification of the plant much easier for the botanists.
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You can often see trifid structures in marine algae under a microscope.
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Look at that trifid flower in the garden!
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The plant has trifid leaves.
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The trifid leaves made identification of the plant much easier for the botanists.
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The flower has trifid petals that distinguish it from other species.
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You can often see trifid structures in marine algae under a microscope.
Synonyms
1
8.0
Something that has three rounded parts
It has three separate rounded parts like some leaves
Having three separate parts like a maple leaf
A leaf or plant part divided into three separate sections
Compounds
A plant found in wet places with leaves in three parts and small yellow flowers whose seeds stick to clothes
A riverbank plant with leaves divided into three parts, small yellow flowers, and seeds that stick to fur
Surface Forms
Morphology
trifid = fid (semi-transparent) = tri + fid
The prefix 'tri-' clearly signals 'three', but the combining form '-fid' (meaning 'split/cleft') is technical and may be unfamiliar to intermediate learners, so the overall derivation is only partly transparent.
Etymology
Trifid comes from two parts: tri- meaning 'three' and -fid meaning 'split'. Think of triple for 'three' and bifid which means 'split in two', so a trifid leaf or petal is 'split into three' parts.