Advertisement
Advertisement
cycad
[ sahy-kad ]
noun
- any gymnospermous plant of the order Cycadales, intermediate in appearance between ferns and the palms, many species having a thick, unbranched, columnar trunk bearing a crown of large, leathery, pinnate leaves.
cycad
/ ˈsaɪkæd /
noun
- any tropical or subtropical gymnosperm plant of the phylum Cycadophyta , having an unbranched stem with fernlike leaves crowded at the top See also sago palm
cycad
/ sī′kăd′ /
- Any of various evergreen plants that live in tropical and subtropical regions, have large feathery leaves, and resemble palm trees in that most leaves cluster around the top of the stem. Cycads are gymnosperms that bear conelike reproductive structures at the top of the stem, with male and female cones borne on different plants. Cycads were common in many parts of the Earth during the Jurassic Period and survive today in about 250 species. Sago palms are cycads.
Discover More
Derived Forms
- ˌcycaˈdaceous, adjective
Discover More
Other Words From
- cycad·like adjective
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Origin of cycad1
1835–45; < New Latin Cycad- (stem of Cycas ) genus name < Greek kýkas, misspelling of kóïkas, accusative plural of kóïx kind of palm
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Origin of cycad1
C19: from New Latin Cycas name of genus, from Greek kukas, scribe's error for koïkas, from koïx a kind of palm, probably of Egyptian origin
Discover More
Example Sentences
It was thickly covered with a fine cycad which grows amongst the rocks overhanging the sea.
From Project Gutenberg
At Treasury Island I found a solitary cycad at a height of a thousand feet above the sea.
From Project Gutenberg
Bowenia, an Australian cycad, is peculiar in having bi-pinnate fronds (fig. 5).
From Project Gutenberg
Palms are so like cycads that we may regard them as the descendants of some cycad type.
From Project Gutenberg
Opposite me is a funny old cycad, not branched at all but bent.
From Project Gutenberg
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse