1.
[syn: stoma, stomate, pore]
2. a mouth or mouthlike opening (especially one created by surgery on the surface of the body to create an opening to an internal organ);
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Stoma \Sto"ma\, n.; pl. Stomata. [NL., fr. Gr. ?, ?, a mouth.]
1. (Anat.) One of the minute apertures between the cells in
many serous membranes.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Bot.)
(a) The minute breathing pores of leaves or other organs
opening into the intercellular spaces, and usually
bordered by two contractile cells.
(b) The line of dehiscence of the sporangium of a fern. It
is usually marked by two transversely elongated cells.
See Illust. of Sporangium.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Zool.) A stigma. See Stigma, n., 6
(a) &
(b) .
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
stoma
n 1: a minute epidermal pore in a leaf or stem through which
gases and water vapor can pass [syn: stoma, stomate,
pore]
2: a mouth or mouthlike opening (especially one created by
surgery on the surface of the body to create an opening to an
internal organ)