archegonium

[ ahr-ki-goh-nee-uhm ]

/ ˌɑr kɪˈgoʊ ni əm /

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noun, plural ar·che·go·ni·a

[ahr-ki-goh-nee-uh]. /ˌɑr kɪˈgoʊ ni ə/. Botany.

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

OTHER WORDS FROM archegonium

ar·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. 2022

How to use archegonium in a sentence

In the female plant there arise at the apex of the stem, surrounded by an envelope of ordinary leaves, several archegonia.
Scientific American Supplement, Vol. XXI., No. 531, March 6, 1886|Various
They are also positively chemotactic to the watery extract from archegonia.
The Organism as a Whole|Jacques Loeb
Plants with cellular tissue only; both antheridia and archegonia borne upon the plant itself.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray
In Welwitschia also the megaspore is filled with prothallus-tissue, but single egg-cells take the place of archegonia.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 7|Various

The same moisture which caused the antheridia to open also brings about the opening of the archegonia.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin

British Dictionary definitions for archegonium

archegonium

/ (ˌɑːkɪˈɡəʊnɪəm) /

noun plural -nia (-nɪə)

a female sex organ, occurring in mosses, spore-bearing vascular plants, and gymnosperms, that produces a single egg cell in its swollen base

Derived forms of archegonium

archegoniate, adjective

Word Origin for archegonium

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

Scientific definitions for archegonium

archegonium

[ är′kĭ-gō′nē-əm ]

Plural archegonia

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.