archegonium

[ ahr-ki-goh-nee-uh m ]

/ ˌɑr kɪˈgoʊ ni əm /

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.

Nearby words

archean, archebanc, arched, arched truss, archegoniophore, archegonium, archemorus, archencephalon, archenemy, archenteron, archeo-

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 forms

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for archegonium

The neck of the archegonium is quite long, but does not project above the surface of the prothallium (Fig. 77, H).
Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany|Douglas Houghton Campbell
The archegonium (fig. 1) has the form of a narrow flask with a long neck.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
The young sporogonium is protected by a thick calyptra derived from the tissue of the thallus around the archegonium.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
The fertilized nucleus or germ-cell of the archegonium in Cryptogams, from which the new plant is directly developed.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray

Spermatozoids are formed in the antheridium, and these enter the archegonium and fertilize the germ cell.
The Nursery Book|Liberty Hyde Bailey

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

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

Science 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.