cotyledon
UK[ˌkɒtɪˈliːd(ə)n]US[ˌkɑːt̬əlˈiːd(ə)n]
n
A leaf of the embryo of a seed plant, which upon germination either remains in the seed or emerges, enlarges, and becomes green.
n
The primary leaf in the embryo of higher plants.
Morpheme Breakdown
cotyl
edon
cotyl
cup
edon
form
Etymology
The word 'cotyledon' has a picturesque origin in ancient Greek. It stems from kotylēdōn, a compound of kotylē, meaning "cup" or "hollow cavity," and -ēdōn, a suffix denoting "form" or "shape." This nomenclature was inspired by the cup-like or spoon-like shape of the embryonic seed leaf. The term was adopted into botanical Latin in the 16th century, where it was used to describe the shape of certain plants' leaves before its meaning specialized to refer specifically to the first leaf or pair of leaves in a plant embryo, retaining the visual logic of its original construction.
Analysis
Structure: cotyl (cup) + edon (form)
- cotyl: From Greek kotylēdōn, from kotylē (cup, cavity). Refers to the cup-like shape.
- edon: A suffix derived from Greek -ēdōn, related to eidos (form, shape). Indicates a thing having a specific form.
Examples
The number of cotyledons present is a key feature used to classify flowering plants.
A bean seed splits open, and its large cotyledon emerges from the soil.
Monocots, such as grasses, have seeds with a single cotyledon.