anthocarpous
|an-tho-car-pous|
🇺🇸
/ˌænθəˈkɑr.pəs/
🇬🇧
/ˌænθəˈkɑː.pəs/
flower-derived fruit
Etymology
'anthocarpous' originates from Neo-Latin/New Latin formation built from Greek elements: 'anthos' (Greek) meaning 'flower' and 'karpos' (Greek) meaning 'fruit'.
'anthocarpous' was formed from New Latin 'anthocarpus' (from Greek 'anthos' + 'karpos') and adopted into English scientific vocabulary in the 19th–20th centuries as a botanical adjective.
Initially formed to describe the literal combination 'flower-fruit' (flower + fruit), it has remained a specialized botanical term now used specifically for fruits incorporating non-ovarian floral parts.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
botany: having or bearing an anthocarp — a fruit in which parts of the flower other than the ovary (for example the perianth or floral tube) become part of the mature fruit.
Many species in the Nyctaginaceae are anthocarpous, with the persistent perianth enclosing the achene.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/08/24 05:20