orthotropous
|or-tho-tro-pous|
🇺🇸
/ˌɔrθəˈtroʊpəs/
🇬🇧
/ˌɔːθəˈtrəʊpəs/
straight (ovule orientation)
Etymology
'orthotropous' originates from New Latin, ultimately from Greek elements: 'orthos' meaning 'straight' and 'tropos' meaning 'turn' or 'direction'.
'orthotropous' was formed in Modern/New Latin (botanical coinage) from Greek roots 'orthos' + 'tropos' and then adopted into scientific English usage in the 19th century to describe ovule orientation.
Initially the roots literally conveyed 'straight-turn' or 'straight-direction'; in botanical usage this evolved to the specific sense 'straight (ovule orientation)' and is now a technical descriptive term.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
in botany, describing an ovule that is straight (not curved or inverted), with the micropyle, chalaza and funiculus lying in the same straight line.
The species has orthotropous ovules.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/08/23 00:13