hypocotyl

[ hahy-puh-kot-l ]

/ ˌhaɪ pəˈkɒt l /

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noun Botany.

the part of a plant embryo directly below the cotyledons, forming a connection with the radicle.

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Origin of hypocotyl

First recorded in 1875–80; hypo- + cotyl(edon)

OTHER WORDS FROM hypocotyl

hy·po·cot·y·lous, adjective

Words nearby hypocotyl

hypochondrium, hypochromia, hypochromic anemia, hypocorism, hypocoristic, hypocotyl, hypocrinism, hypocrisy, hypocrite, hypocritical, hypocrystalline

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

How to use hypocotyl in a sentence

Below the sheathing leaf is a narrow length which will be distinguished as the hypocotyl, and where growth is very active.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
A lens focusses the light from O, on the hypocotyl, and that from O', on the tip of the cotyledon.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
Contrary to generally accepted view the hypocotyl not only perceives but responds to light.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
If the cotyledon be shaded and the light be permitted to fall on one side of the hypocotyl, no heliotropic curving takes place.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose

Hence considerable doubt may be entertained as regards the supposed absence of perception in the hypocotyl of Setaria.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose

British Dictionary definitions for hypocotyl

hypocotyl

/ (ˌhaɪpəˈkɒtɪl) /

noun

the part of an embryo plant between the cotyledons and the radicle

Derived forms of hypocotyl

hypocotylous, adjective

Word Origin for hypocotyl

C19: from hypo- + cotyl (edon)

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 hypocotyl

hypocotyl

[ hī′pə-kŏt′l ]

The part of a plant embryo or seedling that lies between the radicle and the cotyledons. Upon germination, the hypocotyl pushes the cotyledons above the ground to develop. It eventually becomes part of the plant stem. Most seed-bearing plants have hypocotyls, but the grasses have different, specialized structures.