corm

[ kawrm ]
See synonyms for corm on Thesaurus.com
nounBotany.
  1. an enlarged, fleshy, bulblike base of a stem, as in the crocus.

Origin of corm

1
1820–30; <New Latin cormus<Greek kormós a tree trunk with boughs lopped off, akin to keírein to cut off, hew

Other words from corm

  • cormlike, adjective
  • cormoid, adjective
  • cormous, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for corm

corm

/ (kɔːm) /


noun
  1. an organ of vegetative reproduction in plants such as the crocus, consisting of a globular stem base swollen with food and surrounded by papery scale leaves: Compare bulb (def. 1)

Origin of corm

1
C19: from New Latin cormus, from Greek kormos tree trunk from which the branches have been lopped

Derived forms of corm

  • cormous, adjective

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

Scientific definitions for corm

corm

[ kôrm ]


  1. A fleshy underground stem that is similar to a bulb but stores its food as stem tissue and has fewer and thinner leaflike scales. The crocus and gladiolus produce new shoots from corms. Compare bulb rhizome runner tuber.

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