[kuh-doo-kuh
s, -dyoo-] 
| 1. | Botany. dropping off very early, as leaves. |
| 2. | Zoology. subject to shedding. |
| 3. | transitory; perishable. |
| ca·du·cous (kə-dōō'kəs, -dyōō'-) adj. Dropping off or shedding at an early stage of development, as the gills of most amphibians or the sepals or stipules of certain plants. [From Latin cadūcus, falling, from cadere, to fall; see kad- in Indo-European roots.] |