monocotyledon
an angiospermous plant of the class Monocotyledones, characterized by producing seeds with one cotyledon and an endogenous manner of growth.
Compare Meanings
Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.
Origin of monocotyledon
1- Compare dicotyledon.
Words Nearby monocotyledon
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use monocotyledon in a sentence
The term monocotyledon is applied to these plants because the embryo has only one cotyledon or seed-leaf.
The Sea Shore | William S. FurneauxThe case described in your last letter of the trimorphic monocotyledon Pontederia is grand.
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II | Charles Darwin
British Dictionary definitions for monocotyledon
/ (ˌmɒnəʊˌkɒtɪˈliːdən) /
any flowering plant of the class Monocotyledonae, having a single embryonic seed leaf, leaves with parallel veins, and flowers with parts in threes: includes grasses, lilies, palms, and orchids: Often shortened to: monocot Compare dicotyledon
Derived forms of monocotyledon
- monocotyledonous, 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 monocotyledon
[ mŏn′ə-kŏt′l-ēd′n ]
Any of a class of angiosperm plants having a single cotyledon in the seed. Monocotyledons have leaves with parallel veins, flower parts in multiples of three, and fibrous root systems. Their primary vascular bundles are scattered throughout the stem, not arranged in a ring as in eudicotyledons. Grasses, palms, lilies, irises, and orchids are monocotyledons. See more at leaf. Compare eudicotyledon.
Other words from monocotyledon
- monocotyledonous adjective
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse