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archegonium

[ahr-ki-goh-nee-uh m]
noun, plural ar·che·go·ni·a [ahr-ki-goh-nee-uh] /ˌɑr kɪˈgoʊ ni ə/. Botany.
  1. the female reproductive organ in ferns, mosses, etc.
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Origin of archegonium

1850–55; < New Latin, equivalent to archegon- (< Greek archégonos first of a race; see arche-, gono-) + -ium < Greek -ion diminutive suffix
Related formsar·che·go·ni·al, ar·che·go·ni·ate [ahr-ki-goh-nee-it, -eyt] /ˌɑr kɪˈgoʊ ni ɪt, -ˌeɪt/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for archegonia

Historical Examples

  • They are also positively chemotactic to the watery extract from archegonia.

    The Organism as a Whole

    Jacques Loeb

  • By dissecting the young buds, archegonia in all stages of growth may be found.

  • The archegonia (Fig. 61) should be looked for in the younger plants in the neighborhood of those that bear capsules.

  • The archegonia have a shorter neck than those of the ferns, and the neck is straight.

  • The reproductive organs borne by the thallus or plant are called antheridia and archegonia, and serve for sexual reproduction.

British Dictionary definitions for archegonia

archegonium

noun plural -nia (-nɪə)
  1. a female sex organ, occurring in mosses, spore-bearing vascular plants, and gymnosperms, that produces a single egg cell in its swollen base
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Derived Formsarchegoniate, adjective

Word Origin

C19: from New Latin, from Greek arkhegonos original parent, from arkhe- chief, first + gonos seed, race
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
archegonia in Science

archegonium

[är′kĭ-gō′nē-əm]
Plural archegonia
  1. The egg-producing organ occurring in bryophytes (such as mosses and liverworts), ferns, and most gymnosperms. The archegonium is a multicellular, often flask-shaped structure that contains a single egg. Compare antheridium.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.