pruinose

[ proo-uh-nohs ]

/ ˈpru əˌnoʊs /

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Definition of pruinose

adjective Botany, Zoology.

covered with a frostlike bloom or powdery secretion, as a plant surface.

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Origin of pruinose

1820–30; <Latin pruīnōsus frosty, equivalent to pruīn(a) frost (akin to freeze) + -ōsus-ose¹

Words nearby pruinose

prudently, prudery, Prudhoe Bay, Prud'hon, prudish, pruinose, prune, prune-belly syndrome, prunella, prunelle, pruning hook

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use pruinose in a sentence

The stem is short, bluish below, tinged with brown above, somewhat pruinose.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise|M. E. Hard
The stem is long and slender, equal or slightly tapering upward, usually curved; pruinose or mealy.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise|M. E. Hard
Spring-shoots slender, pruinose; branchlets very pliant and tough, summer-shoots abundant.
The Genus Pinus|George Russell Shaw
Spring-shoots conspicuously pruinose, uninodal or not infrequently multinodal.
The Genus Pinus|George Russell Shaw

Pollen: a dusty or pruinose surface covering which is easily rubbed off; used mostly in Diptera.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology|John. B. Smith

British Dictionary definitions for pruinose

pruinose

/ (ˈpruːɪˌnəʊs, -ˌnəʊz) /

adjective

botany coated with a powdery or waxy bloom

Word Origin for pruinose

C19: from Latin pruīnōsus frost-covered, from pruīna hoarfrost

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