cyme

[ sahym ]

noun
  1. an inflorescence in which the primary axis bears a single central or terminal flower that blooms first.

  2. a flat or convex inflorescence of this type.

Origin of cyme

1
1595–1605; <Latin cȳma cabbage sprout <Greek kŷma;see cyma

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

How to use cyme in a sentence

  • The rather large white flowers are in terminal cymes of from three to six.

    Field and Woodland Plants | William S. Furneaux
  • The flowers are much smaller—only about a quarter of an inch in diameter, and are arranged in loose, terminal cymes.

    Field and Woodland Plants | William S. Furneaux
  • The flowers have five sepals and five petals, are of a purple or crimson colour, and are clustered in close cymes.

    Field and Woodland Plants | William S. Furneaux
  • The flowers are in loose cymes, and imperfect; the staminate and the pistillate ones being usually on different plants.

    Field and Woodland Plants | William S. Furneaux
  • The flowers are small, and collected together in dense, purple cymes on the top of long, angular stalks.

    Field and Woodland Plants | William S. Furneaux

British Dictionary definitions for cyme

cyme

/ (saɪm) /


noun
  1. an inflorescence in which the first flower is the terminal bud of the main stem and subsequent flowers develop as terminal buds of lateral stems

Origin of cyme

1
C18: from Latin cӯma cabbage sprout, from Greek kuma anything swollen; see cyma

Derived forms of cyme

  • cymiferous (saɪˈmɪfərəs), adjective

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 cyme

cyme

[ sīm ]


  1. A usually flat-topped or convex determinate inflorescence in which the central main stem and each side branch end in a flower. The flowers in the cluster begin blooming from the flower on the main stem downwards or outwards. Baby's breath, dogwood, and the tomato have cymes.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.