caducous

[ kuh-doo-kuh s, -dyoo- ]

/ kəˈdu kəs, -ˈdyu- /

adjective

Botany. dropping off very early, as leaves.

Zoology. subject to shedding.

transitory; perishable.

Nearby words

cadre, cadreman, caduceus, caducibranchiate, caducity, caducous, cadwalader, cadwallader, cae, cae-, caecilian

Origin of caducous

1675–85; < Latin cadūcus unsteady, perishable, equivalent to cad(ere) to fall + -ūcus adj. suffix; see -ous

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

Examples from the Web for caducous

Leaves alternate, compound, digitate, caducous; leaflets 5–7 with long common petiole.
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines|T. H. Pardo de Tavera
Stipules between the opposite and compound leaves (but they are caducous).
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray
Caducous, dropping off very early, compared with other parts; as the calyx in the Poppy, falling when the flower opens.
The Elements of Botany|Asa Gray
Caducous, ka-dū′kus, adj. falling early, as leaves or flowers.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|Various

Flowers yellow, in racemes, with caducous bracts and bractlets.
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines|T. H. Pardo de Tavera

British Dictionary definitions for caducous

caducous

/ (kəˈdjuːkəs) /

adjective

biology (of parts of a plant or animal) shed during the life of the organism

Word Origin for caducous

C17: from Latin cadūcus falling, from cadere to fall

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 caducous

caducous

[ kə-dōō′kəs ]

Detaching or dropping off at an early stage of development. The gills of most amphibians and the sepals or stipules of certain plants are caducous.