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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Pileus

Pileus \Pi"le*us\, n.; pl. Pilei. [L., a felt cap.]

  1. (Rom. Antiq.) A kind of skull cap of felt.

  2. (Bot.) The expanded upper portion of many of the fungi. See Mushroom.

  3. (Zo["o]l.) The top of the head of a bird, from the bill to the nape.

Wiktionary
pileus

n. 1 the cap of a mushroom. 2 the bell of a jellyfish 3 (context meteorology English) a small thin cloud attached to a cumulus cloud. A cap cloud 4 a conical felt hat worn in ancient Rome and Greece 5 The top of the head of a bird, from the bill to the nape.

WordNet
pileus
  1. n. a fruiting structure resembling an umbrella that forms the top of a stalked fleshy fungus such as a mushroom [syn: cap]

  2. [also: pilei (pl)]

Wikipedia
Pileus (meteorology)

A pileus (; Latin for cap), also called scarf cloud or cap cloud, is a small, horizontal, lenticular cloud that can appear above a cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud, giving the parent cloud a characteristic "hoodlike" appearance. Pilei tend to change shape rapidly. They are formed by strong updraft at lower altitudes, acting upon moist air above, causing the air to cool to its dew point. As such, they are usually indicators of severe weather, and a pileus found atop a cumulus cloud often foreshadows transformation into a cumulonimbus cloud, as it indicates a strong updraft within the cloud.

Clouds that are attached to pilei are often given the suffix "pileus" or "with pileus". For example, a cumulonimbus cloud with a pileus attached to it would be called "cumulonimbus with pileus".

Pilei can also form above ash clouds and pyrocumulus clouds from erupting volcanoes (see the image to the right).

Pilei form above some mushroom clouds of high- yield nuclear detonations.

A sheet of altostratus cloud often is seen lower down in a cumulonimbus cloud, this is known as a velum cloud.

Pileus

Pileus may refer to:

  • Pileus (hat), a brimless cap
  • Pileus (mycology), the "cap" of a mushroom
  • Pileus (meteorology), a cloud formation
Pileus (mycology)

The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp ( fungal fruiting body) that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium. The hymenium ( hymenophore) may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus. A pileus is characteristic of agarics, boletes, some polypores, tooth fungi, and some ascomycetes.

Pileus (hat)

The pileus ( Greek πῖλος - pilos, also pilleus or pilleum in Latin) was a brimless, felt cap worn in Ancient Greece and surrounding regions, later also introduced in Ancient Rome. The Greek πιλίδιον (pilidion) and Latin pilleolus were smaller versions, similar to a skullcap.

The pileus was especially associated with the manumission of slaves, who wore it upon their liberation. It became emblematic of liberty and freedom from bondage. During the classic revival of the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe it was widely confused with the Phrygian cap, (a similarly conical cap but which has the point softened and pulled forward) which, in turn, appeared frequently on statuary and heraldic devices as a "liberty cap.".

The pileus ( plis in Albanian ), is very common in Albania and Kosovo even today.

Usage examples of "pileus".

We propose in this work also to enumerate the mushrooms according to the color of the pileus or cap, and give a list, with a description of each, after this arrangement.

They are placed under the pileus just as the gills are situated, and contain the spores.

It is easily distinguished by the dull green pileus, being without a cuticle, and scaly in the form of patches.

The bright chestnut color of the pileus forms a contrast with the white tubes, and makes it striking in appearance.

They clapped on their pileus caps and strode briskly off the tober, their cassocks and overcoats flapping.