stigma
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1 part of a flower (n.) C2 Proficiency Technical Botanythe top part of the centre of a flower where pollen is received.
the receptive tip of a carpel, or of several fused carpels, in the gynoecium of a flower.
ExampleBees carry pollen from one flower and drop it onto the stigma of another.
ExampleThe stigma is often sticky or hairy to ensure that pollen grains transferred by insects remain in place for germination.
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2 medical sign (n.) C2 Proficiency Technical Medicinea physical mark or sign on the body that shows someone has a specific disease.
a visible sign or characteristic of a disease or a physical abnormality.
ExampleThe doctor looked for physical stigmas that might suggest a liver problem.
ExampleClinical examination revealed several cutaneous stigmas associated with chronic nutritional deficiency.
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3 Greek letter (n.) C2 Proficiency Archaic Technicala special symbol used in the Greek alphabet to represent the letters 's' and 't' together.
a ligature of the Greek letters sigma and tau, used in some historical texts and as a numeral for six.
ExampleThe old manuscript used a stigma instead of writing the two letters separately.
ExampleIn Greek gematria, the stigma is used to represent the number six, though it is rarely encountered in modern typography.
From Latin stigma, from Ancient Greek στίγμα (stígma, “mark of slavery or disgrace”), from στίζω (stízō, “to mark”). Closely related to stigme, and distantly related to stick.
From Byzantine Greek στίγμα (stígma), likely coined by analogy with σίγμα (sígma).