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viviparous - 7 dictionary results

vi⋅vip⋅a⋅rous

  [vahy-vip-er-uhs, vi-]
Use viviparous in a Sentence
–adjective
1. Zoology. bringing forth living young rather than eggs, as most mammals and some reptiles and fishes.
2. Botany. producing seeds that germinate on the plant.
Origin:
1640–50; < L vīviparus bringing forth living young. See vivi-, -parous

Related forms:
vi⋅vip⋅a⋅rism, noun
viv⋅i⋅par⋅i⋅ty  [viv-uh-par-i-tee, vahy-vuh-] , vi⋅vip⋅a⋅rous⋅ness, noun
vi⋅vip⋅a⋅rous⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To viviparous
vi·vip·a·rous   (vī-vĭp'ər-əs, vĭ-)   
adj.  
  1. Zoology Giving birth to living offspring that develop within the mother's body. Most mammals and some other animals are viviparous.
  2. Botany
    1. Germinating or producing seeds that germinate before becoming detached from the parent plant, as in the mangrove.
    2. Producing bulbils or new plants rather than seed, as in the tiger lily.

[From Latin vīviparus : vīvus, alive; see gwei- in Indo-European roots + -parus, -parous.]
vi'vi·par'i·ty (vī'və-pār'ĭ-tē, vĭv'ə-) n., vi·vip'a·rous·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Viviparous

Vi*vip"a*rous\, a. [L. viviparus; vivus alive + parere to bear, bring forth. Cf. Viper.] (Biol.) Producing young in a living state, as most mammals, or as those plants the offspring of which are produced alive, either by bulbs instead of seeds, or by the seeds themselves germinating on the plant, instead of falling, as they usually do; -- opposed to oviparous.

Viviparous fish. (Zo["o]l.) See Embiotocoid.

Viviparous shell (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of operculated fresh-water gastropods belonging to Viviparus, Melantho, and allied genera. Their young, when born, have a well-developed spiral shell.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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viviparous 
1646, from L.L. viviparus "bringing forth alive," from L. vivus "alive, living" + parere "bring forth, bear" (see pare).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: vi·vip·a·rous
Pronunciation: vI-'vip-(&-)r&s, v&-
Function: adjective
: producing living young instead of eggsfrom within the body in the manner of nearly all mammals, many reptiles, and a few fishes —compare LARVIPAROUS, OVIPAROUS, OVOVIVIPAROUS —vi·vip·a·rous·ly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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viviparous vi·vip·a·rous (vī-vĭp'ər-əs, vĭ-)
adj.
Giving birth to living offspring that develop within the mother's body as for most mammals.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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viviparous   (vī-vĭp'ər-əs)  Pronunciation Key 
Giving birth to living young that develop within the mother's body rather than hatching from eggs. All mammals except the monotremes are viviparous. Compare oviparous, ovoviviparous.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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