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achene

 [ey-keen, uh-keen]  

a·chene

   [ey-keen, uh-keen]
noun Botany.
any small, dry, hard, one-seeded, indehiscent fruit.
Also, akene.

Origin:
1835–45; < Neo-Latin achaenium, equivalent to a- a-6 + Greek chain- (stem of chaínein to gape) + Latin -ium -ium

Related forms
a·che·ni·al  [ey-kee-nee-uhl, uh-kee-] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Achene is always a great word to know.
So is bryophytes. Does it mean:
phylum of green, nonvascular, seedless plants comprised of true mosses, hornworts and liverworts
green coloring of leaves and plants needed for photosynthesis
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Collins
World English Dictionary
achene or akene (əˈkiːn)
 
—n
a dry one-seeded indehiscent fruit with the seed distinct from the fruit wall. It may be smooth, as in the buttercup, or feathery, as in clematis
 
[C19: from New Latin achaenium that which does not yawn or open, from a-1 + Greek khainein to yawn]
 
akene or akene
 
—n
 
[C19: from New Latin achaenium that which does not yawn or open, from a-1 + Greek khainein to yawn]
 
a'chenial or akene
 
—adj
 
a'kenial or akene
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
achene also akene   (ā-kēn')  Pronunciation Key 
A small, dry, one-seeded fruit in which the seed sits free inside the hollow fruit, attached only by the stem of the ovule. Achenes are indehiscent (they do not split open when ripe). The fruits of the sunflower and elm are achenes.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

achene

dry, one-seeded fruit lacking special seams that split to release the seed. The seed coat is attached to the thin, dry ovary wall (husk) by a short stalk, so that the seed is easily freed from the husk, as in buckwheat. The fruits of many plants in the buttercup family and the rose family are achenes.

Learn more about achene with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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