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

cryptococcal meningitis, cryptococcosis, cryptococcus, cryptocrystalline, cryptocurrency, cryptogam, cryptogenic, cryptogram, cryptograph, cryptography, crypto-Jew

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

How to use cryptogam in a sentence

The insect which seeks it does not come from a distance; it inhabits the places wherein the cryptogam is found.
Social Life in the Insect World|J. H. Fabre
They mock at wounds who never confronted a foe more tangible than a Baconian cryptogam.
The Army Mule and Other War Sketches|Henry A. Castle
This irritation induces abnormal proliferation of epithelium, upon which the spores of the cryptogam then germinate.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II|Various
The papilla continues to elongate and the cryptogam to increase, until finally it invades nearly the entire length of the papilla.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II|Various

In no plant belonging to this sub-kingdom—in no single cryptogam—is any flower ever developed.
The Contemporary Review, Volume 36, September 1879|Various

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