Definition of stigma
- v. t. - A mark made with a burning iron; a brand.
- v. t. - Any mark of infamy or disgrace; sign of moral blemish;
stain or reproach caused by dishonorable conduct; reproachful
characterization.
- v. t. - That part of a pistil which has no epidermis, and is
fitted to receive the pollen. It is usually the terminal portion, and
is commonly somewhat glutinous or viscid. See Illust. of Stamen and of
Flower.
- v. t. - A small spot, mark, scar, or a minute hole; -- applied
especially to a spot on the outer surface of a Graafian follicle, and
to spots of intercellular substance in scaly epithelium, or to minute
holes in such spots.
- v. t. - A red speck upon the skin, produced either by the
extravasation of blood, as in the bloody sweat characteristic of
certain varieties of religious ecstasy, or by capillary congestion, as
in the case of drunkards.
- v. t. - One of the external openings of the tracheae of insects,
myriapods, and other arthropods; a spiracle.
- v. t. - One of the apertures of the pulmonary sacs of arachnids.
See Illust. of Scorpion.
- v. t. - One of the apertures of the gill of an ascidian, and of
Amphioxus.
- v. t. - A point so connected by any law whatever with another
point, called an index, that as the index moves in any manner in a
plane the first point or stigma moves in a determinate way in the same
plane.
- v. t. - Marks believed to have been supernaturally impressed
upon the bodies of certain persons in imitation of the wounds on the
crucified body of Christ. See def. 5, above.