catkin

[ kat-kin ]

nounBotany.
  1. a spike of unisexual, apetalous flowers having scaly, usually deciduous bracts, as of a willow or birch.

Origin of catkin

1
First recorded in 1570–80, catkin is from the Dutch word katteken little cat (now obsolete). See cat, -kin

Other words from catkin

  • cat·kin·ate [kat-kuh-neyt], /ˈkæt kəˌneɪt/, adjective

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

How to use catkin in a sentence

  • Drifting across the pond as gently as the gray half-light fell a shower of lint from the willow catkins.

    Roof and Meadow | Dallas Lore Sharp
  • Their nests are made of twigs, roots, or strips of fiber from vines and lined with the down from catkins and horsehair.

    Western Bird Guide | Chester A. (Chester Albert) Reed, Harry F. Harvey, and Rex I. Brasher
  • The male flowers grow in catkins, each arising from a scaly bract, and have a green perianth.

    The Sea Shore | William S. Furneaux
  • On these almost universal, but on nothing else, except on the fallen catkins of the same species.

    The North American Slime-Moulds | Thomas H. (Thomas Huston) MacBride
  • The moth is out in March and April, and may be found on the sallow catkins.

British Dictionary definitions for catkin

catkin

/ (ˈkætkɪn) /


noun
  1. an inflorescence consisting of a spike, usually hanging, of much reduced flowers of either sex: occurs in birch, hazel, etc: Also called: ament

Origin of catkin

1
C16: from obsolete Dutch katteken kitten, identical in meaning with French chaton, German Kätzchen

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 catkin

catkin

[ kătkĭn ]


  1. A long, thin, indeterminate inflorescence of tiny, petalless flowers growing on willows, birches, oaks, poplars, and certain other trees. The flowers on a catkin are either all male or all female. The female flowers are usually pollinated by the wind. Also called ament See illustration at inflorescence.

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