calyx
Botany. the outermost group of floral parts; the sepals.
Anatomy, Zoology. a cuplike part.
Origin of calyx
1- Also ca·lix .
Other words from calyx
- cal·y·cate [kal-i-keyt], /ˈkæl ɪˌkeɪt/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use calyx in a sentence
All this bubbling of sap and slipping of sheaths and bursting of calyxes was carried to her on mingled currents of fragrance.
Summer | Edith WhartonHe looked so desperate that she laughed her silver, ringing laughter that shook the rose‑petals from their calyxes.
The Silver Butterfly | Mrs. Wilson WoodrowThese enormous calyxes were of the most brilliant golden yellow, azure, and purple.
The Works of Theophile Gautier, Volume 5 | Theophile GautierThe trees were raining too, showers of willow-catkins and cherry-bud calyxes, which fell noiselessly and strewed the ground.
Nine Little Goslings | Susan CoolidgeI have shown one of these calyxes in my title picture, at the right, one-half of it being torn off, and disclosing a cavity.
Eye Spy | William Hamilton Gibson
British Dictionary definitions for calyx
/ (ˈkeɪlɪks, ˈkælɪks) /
the sepals of a flower collectively, forming the outer floral envelope that protects the developing flower bud: Compare corolla
any cup-shaped cavity or structure, esp any of the divisions of the human kidney (renal calyx) that form the renal pelvis
Origin of calyx
1Derived forms of calyx
- calycate (ˈkælɪˌkeɪt), adjective
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 calyx
[ kā′lĭks, kăl′ĭks ]
The sepals of a flower considered as a group. The calyx is the outermost whorl of a flower. See more at sepal.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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