heterocarpous
|het-er-o-car-pous|
🇺🇸
/ˌhɛtəroʊˈkɑrpəs/
🇬🇧
/ˌhɛtərəʊˈkɑːpəs/
bearing fruits of different forms
Etymology
'heterocarpous' originates from Greek, specifically the combining form 'hetero-' meaning 'different' and 'karpós' meaning 'fruit', via modern scientific (Neo-Latin) formation.
'hetero-' + 'carp-' + the English adjectival suffix '-ous' were combined in scientific Latin (as a learned formation) and entered English in the 19th century as 'heterocarpous'.
Initially, it meant 'having or producing different kinds of fruit on the same plant,' and this technical meaning has remained essentially the same in modern usage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
botany: bearing or producing more than one type or form of fruit on the same plant.
Several desert annuals are heterocarpous, producing both dispersal-oriented and dormancy-oriented fruits on the same plant.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/08/11 13:44