dioecy
|di-oe-cy|
/daɪˈiːsi/
separate male and female individuals
Etymology
'dioecy' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'dioecia', where 'di-' meant 'two' and 'oikos' meant 'house'.
'dioecy' changed from New Latin 'dioecia' (borrowed from Greek 'dioikos') and eventually became the modern English word 'dioecy' through post-medieval scientific Latin usage.
Initially it meant 'pertaining to two households' (from literal Greek elements), but over time it evolved into the biological sense 'having male and female reproductive organs on separate individuals.'
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the condition in which a species has distinct male and female individuals (i.e., individual organisms are either male or female), especially in plants and some algae and fungi.
Dioecy is relatively rare among flowering plants but is important for studies of plant breeding systems.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/08/25 17:33