apospory

[ ap-uh-spawr-ee, -spohr-ee, uh-pos-puh-ree ]

/ ˈæp əˌspɔr i, -ˌspoʊr i, əˈpɒs pə ri /

Save This Word!

noun Botany.

the development of a gametophyte from a sporophyte without meiosis.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of apospory

First recorded in 1880–85; apo- + spor- + -y³

OTHER WORDS FROM apospory

ap·o·spor·ic

[ap-uh-spawr-ik, -spor-], /ˌæp əˈspɔr ɪk, -ˈspɒr-/, a·pos·por·ous

[uh-pos-per-uhs, ap-uh-spawr-uhs, -spor-], /əˈpɒs pər əs, ˌæp əˈspɔr əs, -ˈspɒr-/, adjective

Words nearby apospory

aporia, aport, aposematic, aposematic coloration, aposiopesis, apospory, apostasy, apostate, apostatize, a posteriori, apostil

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use apospory in a sentence

This phenomenon of apospory was first discovered in mosses, but is now also known in a number of ferns (see Pteridophyta).
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various

British Dictionary definitions for apospory

apospory

/ (ˈæpəˌspɔːrɪ) /

noun

botany development of the gametophyte from the sporophyte without the formation of spores

the development of an embryo of a flowering plant outside the embryo sac, from a cell of the nucellus or chalaza

Word Origin for apospory

C19: from apo- + spore + -y 1

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