achene

or a·kene

[ey-keen, uh-keen]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR achene ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Botany.

any small, dry, hard, one-seeded, indehiscent fruit.

RELATED WORDS

kernel, stone, caryopsis, utricle

Origin of achene

1835–45; < New Latin achaenium, equivalent to a- a-⁶ + Greek chain- (stem of chaínein to gape) + Latin -ium -ium

Related formsa·che·ni·al

[ey-kee-nee-uh l, uh-kee-] /eɪˈki ni əl, əˈki-/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for achene

Historical Examples of achene

Achene flattened, linear-oblong, beaked with the long persistent style.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States
Asa Gray
Compared with U. dioica, this achene is thinner and shorter.
Seeds of Michigan Weeds
W. J. (William James) Beal
Fruit an achene, buried in the greatly enlarged fleshy calyx.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States
Asa Gray
Achene obtusely triangular, partly 3-celled, enclosed in the indurated calyx.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States
Asa Gray
Ovary 1-celled with a suspended ovule, becoming an achene; calyx none; aquatic herbs, with finely dissected whorled leaves.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States
Asa Gray

British Dictionary definitions for achene

achene

akene

noun

a dry one-seeded indehiscent fruit with the seed distinct from the fruit wall. It may be smooth, as in the buttercup, or feathery, as in clematis

Derived Formsachenial or akenial, adjective

Word Origin for achene

C19: from New Latin achaenium that which does not yawn or open, from a- 1 + Greek khainein to yawn

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

Science definitions for achene

achene

A small, dry, one-seeded fruit in which the seed sits free inside the hollow fruit, attached only by the stem of the ovule. Achenes are indehiscent (they do not split open when ripe). The fruits of the sunflower and elm are achenes.