calyx
Americannoun
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Botany. the outermost group of floral parts; the sepals.
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Anatomy, Zoology. a cuplike part.
noun
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the sepals of a flower collectively, forming the outer floral envelope that protects the developing flower bud Compare corolla
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any cup-shaped cavity or structure, esp any of the divisions of the human kidney ( renal calyx ) that form the renal pelvis
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The sepals of a flower considered as a group. The calyx is the outermost whorl of a flower.
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See more at sepal
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of calyx
First recorded in 1665–75; from Latin, from Greek kályx “cup, calyx (of a flower), husk, pod, covering,” akin to kalýptein “to veil, cover”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
So you slice off the stem end just below the calyx, the little cap.
From Salon ● May 13, 2023
Then he’ll fabricate the sundry plant forms — the buds, the flower, the calyx — for days on end.
From New York Times ● May 8, 2018
"Here we have this discovery of these incredibly rare, delicate fossils - here you have a berry surrounded by this papery calyx - it's almost unheard of that such a thing could be fossilised."
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2017
Pretty, blush-pink flowers bloom on red wine-stemmed bushes with trident leaves, but it’s not the delicate petals that you want, but the outer sepals that form the protective, pointy calyx around the flower bud.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2016
The stem, calyx, rose and leaves were now one and seemed to have grown so.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
From here, the papillae deliver the filtrate, now called urine, into the minor calyces that eventually connect to the ureters through the renal pelvis.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
On the inside of the kidney, the renal pelvis branches out into two or three extensions called the major calyces, which further branch into the minor calyces.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
As urine is formed, it drains into the calyces of the kidney, which merge to form the funnel-shaped renal pelvis in the hilum of each kidney.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
This filtrate is processed and finally gathered by collecting ducts that drain into the minor calyces, which merge to form major calyces; the filtrate then proceeds to the renal pelvis and finally the ureters.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
In the case of flowers with very deep calyces, he sometimes makes short cut to the honey by piercing with his sharp curved bill a hole in the side through which to insert the tongue.
From Birds of the Indian Hills by Dewar, Douglas
In addition to learning how to distinguish your calyxes from your corollas, Margelony provides an extensive list of Pacific Northwest public gardens with fuchsia collections.
From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2023
On the cultivar ‘Black and Blue’, the blooms emerge from striking black calyxes.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 2, 2022
Previously, I’d encountered hibiscus calyxes only in their dried state, but Joanne told me that’s part of why sorrel is so specific to Christmastime in Trinidad.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 3, 2022
I use a little chicken broth to add flavor to the reconstituted calyxes, but vegetable or mushroom broth would make a fine substitution for vegetarians.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2016
I harvested the fallen ones from the ground below and removed their green calyxes at the base of the petals.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
