cupule

n.
A small cup-shaped structure or organ, such as the cup at the base of an acorn or one of the suckers on the feet of certain flies.

[Late Latin cūpula, little cask, diminutive of Latin cūpa, tub.]

[Ar]

Small cup-shaped marks deliberately pecked out of a rock surface. Their purpose and symbolism is not known, although there are some suggestions that in Scandinavia at least they are female signs. Also known as pits, dots, and cup-marks in rock-art studies.

IN BRIEF: n. - A sucker on the feet of certain flies; Cup-shaped structure of hardened bracts at the base of an acorn.

Tutor's tip: A "cupola" is a domed structure or roof, a "cupula" is a part shaped like a cup, while a "cupule" is a concave bodily structure, usually in trees.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: cup-shaped structure of hardened bracts at the base of an acorn
  Synonym: acorn cup

Meaning #2: a sucker on the feet of certain flies

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