autogamy

[ aw-tog-uh-mee ]

noun
  1. Botany. pollination of the ovules of a flower by its own pollen; self-fertilization (opposed to allogamy).

  2. Biology. conjugation in an individual organism by division of its nucleus into two parts that in turn reunite to form a zygote.

Origin of autogamy

1
First recorded in 1875–80; auto-1 + -gamy

Other words from autogamy

  • au·tog·a·mous, au·to·gam·ic [aw-toh-gam-ik], /ˌɔ toʊˈgæm ɪk/, adjective

Words Nearby autogamy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use autogamy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for autogamy

autogamy

/ (ɔːˈtɒɡəmɪ) /


noun
  1. self-fertilization in flowering plants

  2. a type of sexual reproduction, occurring in some protozoans, in which the uniting gametes are derived from the same cell

Derived forms of autogamy

  • autogamous or autogamic (ˌɔːtəˈɡæmɪk), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for autogamy

autogamy

[ ô-tŏgə-mē ]


  1. The union of nuclei within and arising from a single cell, as in certain protozoans and fungi.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.