cha|la|za

cha|la|za «kuh LAY zuh», noun, plural -zas, -zae «-zee».

1. Zoology. either of the two membranous twisted strings by which the yolk of a bird's egg is bound to the lining membrane at the ends of the shell and kept near the middle of the albumen.

2. Botany. the point on a seed where the integuments diverge from the nucellus: »

The three of these nearest the micropyle now gradually disappear and give place to the one nearest the chalaza which is the attachment of the ovule to the scale (Fred W. Emerson).

╂[< New Latin chalaza < Greek chálaza hail(stone); a lump like hail]