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corymb

[kawr-imb, -im, kor-]
noun Botany.
  1. a form of inflorescence in which the flowers form a flat-topped or convex cluster, the outermost flowers being the first to open.
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Origin of corymb

1700–10; < Latin corymbus < Greek kórymbos head, top, cluster of fruit or flowers
Related formscor·ymbed, adjectivecor·ymb·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for corymb

Historical Examples of corymb

  • Flowers large, to 2/3 in., many in a corymb, on glandular peduncles.

    Trees of the Northern United States

    Austin C. Apgar

  • The axis of a corymb is short in proportion to the lower pedicels.

  • Corymbose, in corymbs, approaching the form of a corymb, or branched in that way.

  • Second, the cauliflower, which is a cluster (corymb) of forced cabbage flowers.

  • Ivy-branches, dividing both ways from the handle, surround its rim with a delicate tracery of sharp-cut leaf and corymb.

British Dictionary definitions for corymb

corymb

noun
  1. an inflorescence in the form of a flat-topped flower cluster with the oldest flowers at the periphery. This type of raceme occurs in the candytuft
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Derived Formscorymbed, adjectivecorymbose or corymbous, adjectivecorymbosely, adverb

Word Origin for corymb

C18: from Latin corymbus, from Greek korumbos cluster
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
corymb in Science

corymb

[kôr′ĭmb, -ĭm]
  1. An indeterminate inflorescence whose outer flowers have longer stalks than the inner flowers, so that together they form a round cluster that is rather flat on top. The outer flowers open before the inner ones. Yarrow and the hawthorn have corymbs. See illustration at inflorescence.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.