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conidium

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

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

conicoid, conic projection, conics, conic section, conidiophore, conidium, conifer, coniferin, coniferous, coniine, coniofibrosis
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

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) /
noun plural -nidia (-ˈnɪdɪə)
an asexual spore formed at the tip of a specialized hypha (conidiophore) in fungi such as Penicillium

Derived forms of conidium

conidial or conidian, adjective

Word Origin for conidium

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

Medical definitions for conidium

conidium
[ kə-nĭd′ē-əm ]
n. pl. co•nid•i•a (-ē-ə)
An asexually produced fungal spore, formed on a conidiophore.

Other words from conidium

co•nid′i•al adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Scientific definitions for conidium

conidium
[ kə-nĭd′ē-əm ]
Plural conidia
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.
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