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cycad

[ sahy-kad ]
/ ˈsaɪ kæd /

noun

any gymnospermous plant of the order Cycadales, intermediate in appearance between ferns and the palms, many species having a thick, unbranched, columnar trunk bearing a crown of large, leathery, pinnate leaves.

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Origin of cycad

1835–45; <New Latin Cycad- (stem of Cycas) genus name <Greek kýkas, misspelling of kóïkas, accusative plural of kóïx kind of palm

OTHER WORDS FROM cycad

cy·cad·like, adjective

Words nearby cycad

cyberwar, cyberwarfare, cyborg, cybrid, cyc, cycad, cycadaceous, cycas, cycasin, cycl-, cyclable
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for cycad

British Dictionary definitions for cycad

cycad
/ (ˈsaɪkæd) /

noun

any tropical or subtropical gymnosperm plant of the phylum Cycadophyta, having an unbranched stem with fernlike leaves crowded at the topSee also sago palm (def. 2)

Derived forms of cycad

cycadaceous, adjective

Word Origin for cycad

C19: from New Latin Cycas name of genus, from Greek kukas, scribe's error for koïkas, from koïx a kind of palm, probably of Egyptian origin
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 cycad

cycad
[ sī′kăd′ ]

Any of various evergreen plants that live in tropical and subtropical regions, have large feathery leaves, and resemble palm trees in that most leaves cluster around the top of the stem. Cycads are gymnosperms that bear conelike reproductive structures at the top of the stem, with male and female cones borne on different plants. Cycads were common in many parts of the Earth during the Jurassic Period and survive today in about 250 species. Sago palms are cycads.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.