open-pollinating
|o-pen-pol-li-nat-ing|
🇺🇸
/ˌoʊpənˈpɑləˌneɪtɪŋ/
🇬🇧
/ˌəʊpənˈpɒlɪˌneɪtɪŋ/
(open-pollinate)
naturally pollinated
Etymology
'open-pollinating' is a compound formed from 'open' + 'pollinate'. 'Open' originates from Old English 'open' meaning 'not closed, uncovered'. 'Pollinate' originates from Latin 'pollen' meaning 'fine powder, dust' (pollen) with the verb-forming suffix in Modern/Neo-Latin.
'pollinate' was formed in post-classical Latin/Modern Latin from 'pollen' and entered English as 'pollinate' in the 18th-19th centuries; the compound 'open-pollinated' arose in horticultural usage in the 19th-20th centuries, with 'open-pollinating' as a gerund/adjective form used in seed and plant descriptions.
Originally related to the transfer or presence of pollen, the term evolved to describe not only the action of pollen transfer but also a class of seeds/plants reproduced by natural pollination (i.e., 'open-pollinated' seeds that breed true rather than hybrid offspring).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Verb 1
present participle of 'open-pollinate'; to pollinate (plants) by natural, uncontrolled means (insects, birds, wind, etc.), rather than by controlled or deliberate breeding.
Farmers are open-pollinating the heirloom varieties to preserve their traits.
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Adjective 1
describing plants or seed varieties that are pollinated by natural, uncontrolled means; often used to indicate seeds that will breed true (not hybrids).
These open-pollinating seeds tend to maintain regional characteristics and greater genetic diversity.
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Last updated: 2026/01/10 20:44