‖ ala
(ˈeɪlə)
Pl. alæ (ˈeɪliː).
[L. āla a wing, an arm-pit, a side apartment.]
1. Phys. Any wing-like process; esp. one of the lateral cartilages of the nose.
| 1755 Phil. Trans. XLIX. 193, I laid the intire bone bare..even down to the ala of the nose. 1856 Todd & Bowman Phys. Anat. II. 111 The great ala of the sphenoid. 1864 Spencer Illust. Progr. 11 The flatness of the alae of the nose. |
2. Bot. † a. An axil, or junction of branch and trunk (obs.). b. One of the side petals of a papilionaceous corolla. Gray Struct. Bot.
| 1794 Martyn tr. Rousseau's Bot. v. 50 Branches which grow from their alæ, or axils. |
3. Arch. A side apartment or recess of a Roman house. (Hence aisle of a church.)
| 1832 Gell Pompeiana I. i. 9 The atrium has two alæ in one of which is an altar. |