stamen
Americannoun
plural
stamens, staminanoun
Other Word Forms
- stamened adjective
- staminal adjective
- staminiferous adjective
Etymology
Origin of stamen
1640–50; < Latin stāmen warp in upright loom, thread, filament, equivalent to stā ( re ) to stand + -men noun suffix; akin to Greek stḗmōn warp, Sanskrit sthāman place
Explanation
A stamen is the part of a flower that produces pollen so it can reproduce. The number of stamens in most flowers is the same as the number of petals. In many flowers, you can easily see the stamens—or more precisely, the parts of the stamen called filaments, the thin stalks in the middle of the bloom, and the anthers, the tiny pods that hold the pollen. In Latin, stamen means "foundational warp thread in weaving," and its root means "to stand, or make firm."
Vocabulary lists containing stamen
Life Science: Plants
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Plants (Botany) - Middle School
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Plants (Botany) - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This allowed them to identify a signal emitted by the maternal tissue that attracts pollen tubes by leading them to elongate along the stamen tissue and reach the site of fertilization.
From Science Daily • May 21, 2024
When a bee rummages around for nectar in the flower’s center, it triggers the next stamen to come sweeping in, ready for a new bee, or the previous bee’s return.
From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2019
What is the primary difference between a stamen and a carpel?
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2018
“We’re trying to make the environmental movement more fun and diverse – it has become very dry and boring,” Sprinkle, 62, tells me, pointing to a suggestively exuberant hibiscus stamen.
From The Guardian • May 15, 2017
In her hair was a stamen from a flower.
From "Stuart Little" by E.B. White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
