capitulum

  

ca·pit·u·lum

[kuh-pich-uh-luhm]
noun, plural ca·pit·u·la [kuh-pich-uh-luh] .
Biology. any globose or knoblike part, as a flower head or the head of a bone.
Origin:
1715–25; < Latin, equivalent to capit- (stem of caput) head + -ulum, neuter of -ulus -ule

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World English Dictionary
capitulum (kəˈpɪtjʊləm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n , pl -la
1.  a racemose inflorescence in the form of a disc of sessile flowers, the youngest at the centre. It occurs in the daisy and related plants
2.  anatomy, zoology a headlike part, esp the enlarged knoblike terminal part of a long bone, antenna, etc
 
[C18: from Latin, literally: a little head, from caput head]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Capitulum is always a great word to know.
So is photoautotroph. Does it mean:
any organism that derives its energy for food synthesis from light and is capable of using carbon dioxide as its principal source of carbon
a theory that evolution of a species is due to a predetermined series of alterations intrinsic to the species, not due to natural selection
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

capitulum
c.1750, from L., lit. "little head," dim. of caput "head" (see head).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

capitulum ca·pit·u·lum (kə-pĭch'ə-ləm)
n. pl. ca·pit·u·la (-lə)
A small head or rounded articular extremity of a bone.

ca·pit'u·lar adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
capitulum   (kə-pĭch'ə-ləm)  Pronunciation Key 
Plural capitula

  1. A small knob or head-shaped part, such as a protuberance of a bone or the tip of an insect's antenna.

  2. An inflorescence consisting of a compact mass of small stalkless flowers, as in the English daisy. The yellow central portion of the capitulum of a daisy consists of disk flowers, while the outer white, petallike structures are actually ray flowers. The capitulum is the characteristic inflorescence of the composite family (Asteraceae) of flowering plants.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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