basidium
|ba-si-di-um|
/bəˈsɪdiəm/
small base that produces spores
Etymology
'basidium' originates from Modern Latin 'basidium', ultimately from Greek 'basidion', a diminutive of 'basis' meaning 'base' or 'pedestal'.
'basidion' in Greek became Latinized as 'basidium' in New Latin and was adopted into modern scientific English as 'basidium'.
Initially it meant 'small base' or 'little pedestal'; over time in biology it became specialized to mean a 'spore-producing cell' in certain fungi.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a microscopic, typically club-shaped spore-producing cell found in Basidiomycete fungi that bears basidiospores externally on small projections (sterigmata).
A basidium typically bears four basidiospores on slender sterigmata.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/21 15:16