primine

[ prahy-min ]

/ ˈpraɪ mɪn /

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noun Botany.

the outer integument of an ovule.

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Compare secundine.

Origin of primine

1825–35; <Latin prīm(us) first (see prime) + -ine²

Words nearby primine

prime the pump, prime time, primeval, prime vertical, primigravida, primine, priming, primipara, primitive, Primitive Baptist, primitive cell

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

How to use primine in a sentence

Within the primine lies the bony crustaceous secundine, which is quite loose, and seems as if it were independent of the primine.
Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia|Thomas Mitchell
Eventually the end of the thin brittle primine breaks like an eggshell and the secundine falls out.
Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia|Thomas Mitchell

British Dictionary definitions for primine

primine

/ (ˈpraɪmɪn) /

noun

botany rare the integument surrounding an ovule or the outer of two such integumentsCompare secundine

Word Origin for primine

C19: via French from Latin prīmus first

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