sessile

\sɛ.sil\

/\sɛ.sil\/ adj

The verdict

“sessile” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui ne possède pas d’attache apparente et semble donc directement fixé au support sans l’intermédiaire d’un pied, d’un stipe, d’un pétiole ou d’un pédicelle.

Corpus desk

Index FR-sessile · sessile · French

sessile · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for sessile
PropertyValue
Headwordsessile
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\sɛ.sil\
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « sessile » en français

sessilereste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sessile is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \sɛ.sil\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for sessile in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is sessile, spelled S-E-S-S-I-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui ne possède pas d’attache apparente et semble donc directement fixé au support sans l’intermédiaire d’un pied, d’un stipe, d’un pétiole ou d’un pédicelle.
  2. 2
    Se dit d’une feuille ou d’une fleur ayant une implantation fixe dépourvue de pétiole ou de pédoncule.
  3. 3
    Se dit d’un organe inséré directement sur le corps.
  4. 4
    Se dit d’un animal fixé au sol de manière permanente, comme le corail.
  5. 5
    SE dit d'une tumeur insérée directement sur un organe, un tissu, sans partie rétrécie.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sessile appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […], et dans ce cas, elles offrent tellement toutes les particularités propres aux feuilles, qu'on peut dire qu'elles ne sont que de petites feuilles accessoires, tantôt pétiolées, plus souvent sessiles, tantôt entières, tantôt dentées ou lobées, à nervures pennées ou palmées, etc. ; mais on n'en trouve aucune qui soit ni composée, ni peltinerve, ni pédal…
  2. Cornes sessiles.

Synonyms

Antonyms

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sessile"?
"sessile" is spelled S-E-S-S-I-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \sɛ.sil\.
What does "sessile" mean?
As an adjective, "sessile" means: Qui ne possède pas d’attache apparente et semble donc directement fixé au support sans l’intermédiaire d’un pied, d’un stipe, d’un pétiole ou d’un pédicelle.
How do you pronounce "sessile"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sessile" is \sɛ.sil\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sessile" come from?
"sessile" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list