aril
a usually fleshy appendage or covering of certain seeds, as of the bittersweet, Celastrus scandens, or the nutmeg.
Origin of aril
1Other words from aril
- ar·il·loid, adjective
Words Nearby aril
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use aril in a sentence
By the end of aril, the several armies seemed to be ready, and the general forward movement on Corinth began.
The Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman, Complete | William T. ShermanSeed vessel pyramidal, containing many seeds enveloped in an elastic aril by which they are ejected when the fruit opens.
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines | T. H. Pardo de TaveraCalyx not minute; pod colored, dehiscent; seeds enclosed in a pulpy aril.
Seeds many in several rows on the lateral placenta, with a fleshy lacerate aril on one side.
The pulp is of the nature of an aril, that is, an additional seed-coat.
British Dictionary definitions for aril
/ (ˈærɪl) /
an appendage on certain seeds, such as those of the yew and nutmeg, developed from or near the funicle of the ovule and often brightly coloured and fleshy
Origin of aril
1Derived forms of aril
- arillate, 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 aril
[ ăr′əl ]
A fleshy seed cover which arises from the funiculus (the stalk of the ovule). Arils, such the red berry-like arils of the yew, are often brightly colored to attract animals who eat them and disperse the seeds. The spice mace is the aril of the nutmeg seed.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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