-gynous

American  

1. a combining form with the meanings “of women,” “of females,” “having pistils or analogous organs,” as specified by the initial elements.

   androgynous.

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-gynous British  

combining form

1. of or relating to women or females

   androgynous

   misogynous

2. relating to female organs

   epigynous

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Usage

What does -gynous mean? The combining form -gynous is used like a suffix to mean “of women” or "of females." It is very occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in botany. In terms from botany, -gynous specifically means "having pistils," the seed-bearing female organ of a flower. The form -gynous comes from Greek -gynos, roughly meaning “female.”What are variants of -gynous?While -gynous doesn’t have any variants, it is related to other combining forms: gyn- , -gyne, gynec-, gyneco-, gyno-, and and -gyny. Want to know more? Check out our Words that Use articles for each form.

Other Word Forms

• -gyny
  combining form

Etymology

Origin of -gynous

< Greek -gynos. See gyno-, -ous

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

-gynous

The names were coined by prefixing Greek numerals to -gynia used for gynœcium, and changed into adjectives in the form of -gynous.

From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Gray, Asa