pneumatophore

[ noo-mat-uh-fawr, -fohr, nyoo-, noo-muh-tuh-, nyoo- ]

/ nʊˈmæt əˌfɔr, -ˌfoʊr, nyʊ-, ˈnu mə tə-, ˈnyu- /

noun

Botany. a specialized structure developed from the root in certain plants growing in swamps and marshes, serving as a respiratory organ.

Zoology. the air sac of a siphonophore, serving as a float.

Nearby words

pneumatocyst, pneumatograph, pneumatology, pneumatolysis, pneumatometer, pneumatophore, pneumatorrhachis, pneumatosis, pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis, pneumatotherapy, pneumaturia

Origin of pneumatophore

First recorded in 1855–60; pneumato- + -phore

Related forms

pneu·ma·toph·or·ous

[noo-muh-tof-er-uh s, nyoo-] /ˌnu məˈtɒf ər əs, ˌnyu-/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pneumatophore

If sterile they remain attached and locomotor in function, forming the nectosome, the pneumatophore and swimming-bells.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 2|Various
Next the pit closes up to form a vesicle with a pore, and so gives rise to the pneumatophore.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 2|Various
In cases where the cormus has no pneumatophore the topmost swimming bell may contain an oil-reservoir or oleocyst.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 2|Various
The one end forms the pneumatophore, and the other, the oral part, the polypite.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume II (of 4)|Francis Maitland Balfour

Divergent views have been held as to the morphological significance of the pneumatophore.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 2|Various

British Dictionary definitions for pneumatophore

pneumatophore

/ (njuːˈmætəʊˌfɔː) /

noun

a specialized root of certain swamp plants, such as the mangrove, that branches upwards, rising above ground, and undergoes gaseous exchange with the atmosphere

a polyp in coelenterates of the order Siphonophora, such as the Portuguese man-of-war, that is specialized as a float

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

Science definitions for pneumatophore

pneumatophore

[ nōō-măt′ə-fôr′, nōō′mə-tə- ]

A specialized root that grows upwards out of the water or mud to reach the air and obtain oxygen for the root systems of trees that live in swampy or tidal habitats. The knees of mangroves and the bald cypress are pneumatophores. Also called air root