samara

¹

[sam-er-uh, suh-mair-uh]

noun

Botany.

1. an indehiscent, usually one-seeded, winged fruit, as of the elm or maple.

Samara

²

[suh-mahr-uh, suh-mah-ruh]

noun

1. a port in the SE Russian Federation in Europe, on the Volga.

Samara

¹

/ saˈmarə /

noun

1. Former name (1935–91): Kuibyshev.  Kuybyshev. a port in SW Russia, on the River Volga: centre of an important industrial complex; oil refining. Pop: 1 140 000 (2005 est)

samara

²

/ ˈsæmərə, səˈmɑːrə /

noun

1. Also called: key fruit. a dry indehiscent one-seeded fruit with a winglike extension to aid dispersal: occurs in the ash, maple, etc

samara

1. An achene (a dry, one-seeded fruit) in which the pericarp is modified into a winglike structure adapted for airborne dispersal. The seeds of the ash, elm, and maple are contained in samaras.

Word History and Origins

Origin of samara¹

1570–80; < New Latin; Latin samara, samera elm seed

Word History and Origins

Origin of samara¹

C16: from New Latin, from Latin: seed of an elm

Example Sentences

We hung maple samaras, those winged seeds like helicopters, on our noses.

From New York Times

In spring, the male and female flowers hang in drooping clusters from the ends of the twigs, and the seeds, known as samaras and popularly referred to as helicopters, are 1 to 1½ inches long.

From Seattle Times

Blossoms are followed by a heavily set crop of samaras, those winged seed structures we used to call “helicopters” when we were kids.

From Seattle Times

Marimelo029 commented on the Instagram post they "loved" the photo, and ios_samara called for people to "thank" Madonna for visiting the beleaguered favela, drawing parallels with the pop star's charity work.

From BBC

The green leaves are threaded, and the seeds, or samara, are conspicuously scarlet.

From Washington Post