loment

American  

[loh-ment] / ˈloʊ mɛnt /

noun

Botany.

1. a pod that is contracted in the spaces between the seeds and that breaks at maturity into one-seeded indehiscent joints.

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loment British  

/ ləʊˈmɛntəm, ˌləʊmənˈteɪʃəs, ˈləʊmɛnt /

noun

1. the pod of certain leguminous plants, constricted between each seed and breaking into one-seeded portions when ripe

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loment Scientific  

/ lō′mĕnt′ /

1. An indehiscent legume (a seed pod that does not split open) that is divided into separate seed-bearing segments, giving it a jointed appearance. The segments break off one by one at maturity. It is the characteristic fruit of many leguminous plants, such as the tick trefoil and the crown vetch.

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Other Word Forms

• lomentaceous adjective
• lomentlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of loment

1375–1425; late Middle English lomente < Latin lōmentum bean meal, face cream made of loment, equivalent to lō ( tus ) (variant of lautus, past participle of lavāre to wash; lave ¹ ) + -mentum -ment