cotyledon

[ kot-l-eed-n ]

/ ˌkɒt lˈid n /

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noun Botany.

the primary or rudimentary leaf of the embryo of seed plants.

Anatomy. any of several lobules of the placenta.

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Origin of cotyledon

1535–45; <Latin: navelwort <Greek kotylēdṓn a plant (probably navelwort), literally, a cuplike hollow, derivative of kotýlē cup

OTHER WORDS FROM cotyledon

cot·y·le·don·al, cot·y·le·don·ar·y

[kot-l-eed-n-er-ee], /ˌkɒt lˈid nˌɛr i/, cot·y·le·don·ous, adjectivenon·cot·y·le·don·al, adjectivenon·cot·y·le·don·ar·y, adjectivenon·cot·y·le·don·ous, adjective

pseu·do·cot·y·le·don·al, adjectivepseu·do·cot·y·le·don·ar·y, adjective

Words nearby cotyledon

cottus, cotula, cotunnite, coturnix, Coty, cotyledon, cotyloid, cotylosaur, cotype, coucal, couch

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

How to use cotyledon in a sentence

The term monocotyledon is applied to these plants because the embryo has only one cotyledon or seed-leaf.
The Sea Shore|William S. Furneaux
A bristle was gummed to one cotyledon, and beyond it a triangular bit of card was fixed, and in front a vertical glass.
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II|Charles Darwin
Within the cotyledon will be found a little growing shoot pointed toward the top of the kernel.
The First Book of Farming|Charles L. Goodrich
In Wheat and Oats the cotyledon can be easily seen in the largest seedlings by pulling off the dry husk of the grain.
Outlines of Lessons in Botany, Part I; From Seed to Leaf|Jane H. Newell

Closely applied to one side of this, so closely that it is difficult to separate it perfectly, is the single cotyledon.
Outlines of Lessons in Botany, Part I; From Seed to Leaf|Jane H. Newell

British Dictionary definitions for cotyledon

cotyledon

/ (ˌkɒtɪˈliːdən) /

noun

a simple embryonic leaf in seed-bearing plants, which, in some species, forms the first green leaf after germination

a tuft of villi on the mammalian placenta

Derived forms of cotyledon

cotyledonous or cotyledonoid, adjectivecotyledonal, adjectivecotyledonary, adjective

Word Origin for cotyledon

C16: from Latin: a plant, navelwort, from Greek kotulēdōn, from kotulē cup, hollow

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 cotyledon

cotyledon

[ kŏt′l-ēd′n ]

A leaf of the embryo of a seed-bearing plant. Most cotyledons emerge, enlarge, and become green after the seed has germinated. Cotyledons either store food for the growing embryo (as in monocotyledons) or absorb food that has been stored in the endosperm (as in other angiosperms) for eventual distribution to the growing parts of the embryo. Also called seed leaf See more at eudicotyledon monocotyledon.