a modified leaf, often small and membranous, protecting buds, etc
2.
any of the leaves of some conifers, such as cypresses, that are small and tightly pressed to the stem
scale leaf in American English
noun
a scalelike leaf, as a bud scale or certain bracts
Word origin
[1880–85]This word is first recorded in the period 1880–85. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Chief of Staff, highball, irredentist, jackpot, quotation mark