heterocarpic
|het-er-o-car-pic|
🇺🇸
/ˌhɛtərəˈkɑːrpɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌhɛtərəˈkɑːpɪk/
having different fruit types on the same plant/species
Etymology
'heterocarpic' originates from Greek, specifically the roots 'hetero-' meaning 'different' and 'karpos' meaning 'fruit', entering English via New Latin scientific formation.
'hetero-' + 'carp-' formed New Latin terms (e.g., heterocarpy/heterocarpus), which yielded the English adjective 'heterocarpic'.
Initially, it meant 'having different kinds of fruits,' and this meaning has remained essentially the same in modern scientific usage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
botany: bearing fruits of different forms within the same species or even on the same individual plant (exhibiting heterocarpy).
Several heterocarpic plants produce both winged and unwinged fruits on the same individual.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/08/11 12:17