▪ I. panicle1 Bot.
(ˈpænɪk(ə)l)
Also 6–9 pannicle.
[ad. L. pānicula (-ucula), dim. of pānus a swelling, an ear of millet.]
A compound inflorescence, usually of the racemose type, in which some of the pedicels branch again or repeatedly, forming a loose and irregularly spreading cluster, as in oats and many grasses.
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal i. iii. 4 The bushie top, with his long feather-like pannicles do resemble the common Reede. 1792 M. Riddell Voy. Madeira 98 The blossoms are disposed in a pannicle, or diffused spike. 1832 Veg. Subst. Food 120 When millet is ripe, the panicles are cut off near to the top of the stalk. 1872 Oliver Elem. Bot. i. i. 83 An inflorescence which branches irregularly, like that of Bramble, Horse Chestnut, and most Grasses, is called a panicle. |
▪ II. † panicle2 Obs.
= panic n.1
Johnson's example from Miller is erroneous; M.'s entry is Panicum, Panic (etc.).
| 1606 Peacham Graphice (1612) 135 September in his left hand a handful of Millet, Oates and Panicle. 1656 W. D. tr. Comenius' Gate Lat. Unl. §92. 31 Oats, Rice, Millet, Panicle, Beech-wheat. |
▪ III. panicle
obs. form of pannicle.