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cryptogam

[ krip-tuh-gam ]
/ ˈkrɪp təˌgæm /
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noun Botany.

any of the Cryptogamia, a former primary division of plants that have no true flowers or seeds and that reproduce by spores, as the ferns, mosses, fungi, and algae.

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Origin of cryptogam

From the New Latin word Cryptogamia, dating back to 1840–50. See crypto-, -gamy

OTHER WORDS FROM cryptogam

cryp·to·gam·ic, cryp·tog·a·mous [krip-tog-uh-muhs], /krɪpˈtɒg ə məs/, cryp·to·gam·i·cal, adjectivecryp·tog·a·mist, nouncryp·tog·a·my, noun

Words nearby cryptogam

cryptococcosis, cryptococcus, cryptocrystalline, cryptocurrency, crypt of iris, cryptogam, cryptogenic, cryptogenic septicemia, cryptogram, cryptograph, cryptography
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for cryptogam

British Dictionary definitions for cryptogam

cryptogam
/ (ˈkrɪptəʊˌɡæm) /

noun

(in former plant classification schemes) any organism that does not produce seeds, including algae, fungi, mosses, and fernsCompare phanerogam

Derived forms of cryptogam

cryptogamic or cryptogamous (krɪpˈtɒɡəməs), adjective

Word Origin for cryptogam

C19: from New Latin Cryptogamia, from crypto- + Greek gamos marriage
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
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