rayletn.
/ˈreɪlᵻt/, U.S. /ˈreɪlət/ A small or secondary ray (in various senses).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > [noun] > ray or beam > little
beamling1605
raylet1799
beamlet1840
1799 J. Hull Brit. Flora 105 Umbel 4, or 5-rayed, rays trifid, raylets dichotomous.
1820 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 7 603 Across the floor is sunny raylet shot.
1845 S. Judd Margaret i. xvii. 169 A shower of fine tiny raylets of snow.
1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) 62 From the sides of these rays, secondary rays, or raylets, may be given off.
1932 P. A. Rydberg Flora Prairies & Plains Central N. Amer. 153 S. lineatus... Spikelets mostly solitary at the ends of the raylets.
1955 Sci. News Let. 5 Mar. 153/2 Since the raylets are formed almost instantaneously and decay so rapidly, they look solid when viewed in depth from a distance.
1997 M. Hickey & C. King Common Families Flowering Plants 100/1 Subsequent branching is into 2 or 3 raylets.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1799