conidium

[ koh-nid-ee-uhm, kuh- ]

noun,plural co·nid·i·a [koh-nid-ee-uh, kuh-]. /koʊˈnɪd i ə, kə-/. Botany.
  1. (in fungi) an asexual spore formed by abstriction at the top of a hyphal branch.

Origin of conidium

1
1865–70; <Greek kón(is) dust (akin to incinerate) + -idium

Other words from conidium

  • co·nid·i·al, co·nid·i·an, adjective

Words Nearby conidium

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use conidium in a sentence

  • When it has reached the front of the opening in the conidium, which is thus emptied, the mass remains immovable.

    Fungi: Their Nature and Uses | Mordecai Cubitt Cooke
  • This secondary conidium can sometimes engender a third cellule by a similar process.

    Fungi: Their Nature and Uses | Mordecai Cubitt Cooke
  • A short time after the appearance of the vacuoles the entire conidium extends itself so that the papilla disappears.

    Fungi: Their Nature and Uses | Mordecai Cubitt Cooke
  • Then it isolates itself from the germ-tube by a septum, and takes all the essential characteristics of the parent conidium.

    Fungi: Their Nature and Uses | Mordecai Cubitt Cooke

British Dictionary definitions for conidium

conidium

/ (kəʊˈnɪdɪəm) /


nounplural -nidia (-ˈnɪdɪə)
  1. an asexual spore formed at the tip of a specialized hypha (conidiophore) in fungi such as Penicillium

Origin of conidium

1
C19: from New Latin, from Greek konis dust + ium

Derived forms of conidium

  • conidial or conidian, 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 conidium

conidium

[ kə-nĭdē-əm ]


Plural conidia
  1. An asexually produced fungal spore, formed on a conidiophore. Most conidia are dispersed by the wind and can endure extremes of cold, heat, and dryness. When conditions are favorable, they germinate and grow into hyphae.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.