areola

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
areola /əˈriːələ/

▶noun (pl. areolae /-liː/)

• 1 Anatomy a small circular area, in particular the pigmented skin surrounding a nipple.

  ■ Medicine a reddened patch around a spot or papule.

• 2 Biology any of the small spaces between lines or cracks on a leaf or an insect's wing.

– derivatives
areolar adjective,
areolate adjective.

– origin C17 (in the sense ‘small space or interstice’): from L., lit. ‘small open space’, dimin. of area (see area).