chalaza

noun pl. -·zae-zē or -·zas

1. either of the spiral bands of dense albumen extending from the yolk toward the lining membrane at each end of a bird's egg and serving to keep the yolk suspended near the center of the albumen
2. Bot. the basal end of an ovule, opposite the micropyle, where the seed coats and the nucellus join

Etymology: ModL < Gr, hail < IE base *gheləd-, ice > Pers žāla, hail, OSlav žlědica, sleet