paraphysis

[ puh-raf-uh-sis ]

noun,plural pa·raph·y·ses

[puh-raf-uh-seez]. /pəˈræf əˌsiz/. Botany, Mycology.

one of the erect, sterile filaments often growing among the reproductive organs in many fungi, mosses, and ferns.

Origin of paraphysis

1855–60; <New Latin <Greek paráphysis literally, a growing beside, by-growth, equivalent to para-para-¹ + phýsis growth, nature; see physic

Other words from paraphysis

pa·raph·y·sate [puh-raf-uh-sit], /pəˈræf ə sɪt/, adjective

Words Nearby paraphysis

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

How to use paraphysis in a sentence

paraphysis, pa-raf′i-sis, n. an erect sterile filament accompanying the sexual organs of some cryptogamous plants:—pl.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) | Various
The morphological significance of the paraphysis is uncertain.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 3 | Various
paraphysis: the chitinized thickenings or lateral ingrowths, usually situated at the base of the lobes in certain Diaspid genera.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology | John. B. Smith
One branched and one unbranched paraphysis of Buellia parasema.
Ohio Biological Survey, Bull. 10, Vol. 11, No. 6 | Bruce Fink and Leafy J. Corrington
The paraphysis is a projection from the roof of the primitive fore-brain near its anterior end.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 3 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for paraphysis

paraphysis

/ (pəˈræfɪsɪs) /

nounplural -ses (-ˌsiːz)

any of numerous sterile cells occurring between the sex organs of mosses and algae and between the spore-producing bodies of basidiomycetous and ascomycetous fungi

Origin of paraphysis

C19: New Latin from Greek: subsidiary growth, from para- 1 + phusis growth

Derived forms of paraphysis

paraphysate, 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 paraphysis

paraphysis

[ pə-răf′ĭ-sĭs ]

Plural paraphyses (pə-răf′ĭ-sēz′)

One of the erect sterile filaments often occurring among the reproductive organs of certain fungi, algae, and mosses.

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