strobilus
/stɹəʊ̯ˈbaɪ̯.ləs/
"strobilus" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“strobilus” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A cone-shaped fruiting body sensu stricto of gymnosperms and vascular plants other than angiosperms, bearing either seeds or spores, but sensu lato may refer to similarly structured catkins and con...
Corpus desk
Index EN-strobilus · strobilus · English
strobilus · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | strobilus |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /stɹəʊ̯ˈbaɪ̯.ləs/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “strobilus” in English
Rare enough to double-check
strobilus is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /stɹəʊ̯ˈbaɪ̯.ləs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for strobilus, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Late Latin strobīlus (“pine cone”), borrowed from Ancient Greek στρόβῑλος (stróbīlos, “twisted object, pine cone”), from στρόβος (stróbos, “whirl”). According to Liddell and Scott, 8th ed. 1882: of various meanings such as a pine-cone, somethi… The correct English form is strobilus, spelled S-T-R-O-B-I-L-U-S.
Definition
- 1A cone-shaped fruiting body sensu stricto of gymnosperms and vascular plants other than angiosperms, bearing either seeds or spores, but sensu lato may refer to similarly structured catkins and cones in angiosperms; usage arbitrary according to preferences of various authorities.
- 2A cone-shaped fruiting body sensu stricto of gymnosperms and vascular plants other than angiosperms, bearing either seeds or spores, but sensu lato may refer to similarly structured catkins and cones in angiosperms; usage arbitrary according to preferences of various authorities.
- 3A cone-shaped fruiting body sensu stricto of gymnosperms and vascular plants other than angiosperms, bearing either seeds or spores, but sensu lato may refer to similarly structured catkins and cones in angiosperms; usage arbitrary according to preferences of various authorities.
- 4A strobila, a layered reproductive stage in jellyfish, in which the swimming medusa form is produced.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how strobilus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The strobilus in Selaginella is the sporangia-bearing region of the sporophyte. The sporangia arise in the axils of leaves called the sporophylls.
As a term, female strobilus refers to the stage prior to pollination... The strobilus emerges slowly from its bud then its scales flex open. Once pollinated the strobilus now becomes a conelet. At fertilization the conelet becomes a cone.
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin strobīlus (“pine cone”), borrowed from Ancient Greek στρόβῑλος (stróbīlos, “twisted object, pine cone”), from στρόβος (stróbos, “whirl”). According to Liddell and Scott, 8th ed. 1882: of various meanings such as a pine-cone, something screwed up into a lump like a pine-cone, a pine tree and more.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.