apogamous
|a-po-ga-mous|
🇺🇸
/əˈpɑːɡəməs/
🇬🇧
/əˈpɒɡəməs/
reproduction without fertilization
Etymology
'apogamous' originates from New Latin (or Modern scientific Latin) and ultimately from Greek 'apogamos', where 'apo-' meant 'away from' and 'gamos' meant 'marriage' (i.e., union).
'apogamous' developed via New/Modern Latin forms related to 'apogamy' (Latinized from Greek) and entered English as the adjective 'apogamous' to describe reproduction without sexual union.
Initially the components literally conveyed 'without marriage/union,' but over time the term came to be used specifically for 'reproduction without fertilization' in biological contexts.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
describing a mode of reproduction in which an embryo or new individual develops without fertilization (i.e., without the fusion of gametes); often used for plants (especially ferns) where a sporophyte develops from an unfertilized gametophyte or somatic cells.
Some ferns reproduce apogamously, forming sporophytes without fertilization.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/19 22:06