caducous - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ca·du·cous

Audio Help [kuh-doo-kuh

s, -dyoo-] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	Botany. dropping off very early, as leaves.

2.	Zoology. subject to shedding.

3.	transitory; perishable.

[Origin: 1675–85; < L cadūcus unsteady, perishable, equiv. to cad(ere) to fall + -ūcus adj. suffix; see -ous

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
caducous

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ca·du·cous Audio Help (kə-dōō'kəs, -dyōō'-) Pronunciation Key
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.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

caducous
adjective
shed at an early stage of development; "most amphibians have caducous gills"; "the caducous calyx of a poppy" [ant: lasting]

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

caducous Audio Help (kə-d

'kəs) Pronunciation Key
Detaching or dropping off at an early stage of development. The gills of most amphibians and the sepals or stipules of certain plants are caducous.