cotyledon

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See also: cotylédon

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
Structure of the placenta, with a placental cotyledon marked in rectangle.
Mimosa pudica seedling with two cotyledons and the first "true" leaf with six leaflets.

Etymology

From Latin cotylēdōn, from Ancient Greek κοτυληδών (kotulēdṓn, cup-shaped cavity), from κοτύλη (kotúlē, cup).

Pronunciation

Noun

cotyledon (plural cotyledons)

  1. (physiology) Each of the patches of villi on the foetal chorion in the placenta of ruminants and some other mammals.
    • 1997, Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind, Folio Society, published 2016, page 72:
      Forced to apply animal findings to humans, his human womb also had cotyledons like a dog's.
  2. (botany) The leaf of the embryo of a seed-bearing plant; after germination it becomes the first leaves of the seedling.

Synonyms

(botany): seed leaf

Derived terms

Translations