pollen

pollen (ˈpɒlən)

—n
	a fine powdery substance produced by the anthers of seed-bearing plants, consisting of numerous fine grains containing the male gametes

[C16: from Latin: powder; compare Greek palē pollen]

pollinic

—*adj*

Pollen (ˈpɒlən)

—n
	Daniel. 1813--96, New Zealand statesman, born in Ireland: prime minister of New Zealand (1876)

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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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

pollen

1760 as a botanical term for the fertilizing element of flowers (from Linnæus, 1751), earlier "dust" (1523), from L. pollen "mill dust, fine flour," related to polenta "peeled barley," and pulvis (gen. pulveris) "dust," from PIE base *pel- "dust, porridge made of meal" (cf. Gk. poltos "pap, porridge,"

Skt. palalam "ground seeds," Lith. pelenai, O.C.S. popelu, Rus. pepelo "ashes"). Pollination is first recorded 1875, from Fr. pollination, formed 1812 from L. pollen.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

pollen pol·len (pŏl'ən)
n.
Microspores of seed plants carried by wind or insects prior to fertilization.

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

pollen

(pŏl'ən) Pronunciation Key
Powdery grains that contain the male reproductive cells of most plants. In gymnosperms, pollen is produced by male cones or conelike structures. In angiosperms, pollen is produced by the anthers at the end of stamens in flowers. Each pollen grain contains a generative cell, which divides into two nuclei (one of which fertilizes the egg), and a tube cell, which grows into a pollen tube to conduct the generative cell or the nuclei into the ovule. The pollen grain is the male gametophyte generation of seed-bearing plants. In gymnosperms, each pollen grain also contains two sterile cells (called prothallial cells), thought to be remnants of the vegetative tissue of the male gametophyte.

American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

pollen definition

The male sex cells in plants. In flowering plants, pollen is produced in thin filaments in the flower called stamens. (See fertilization and pollination.)

Note: When pollen is carried into the air by the wind, it frequently causes allergic reactions (see allergy) in humans.

Example sentences

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the pollen count is low.

Explain that pollen is made up of tiny, powdery grains.

Your sneeze could also be due to a reaction to a pollen grain.

Temperatures are up, winds are blowing and pollen is floating around.

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pollen basket pollen brush pollen grain pollen sac pollen tube pollinize

Matching Quote

"Not honey, not the sweet
stain on the lips and teeth:
not honey, not the deep
plunge of soft belly
and the clinging of the gold-edged
pollen-dusted feet."

-Hilda Doolittle