calyx
/ˈkæ.lɪks/ noun
Forms calyces calyxes calix
- noun (botany) The outermost whorl of flower parts, comprising the sepals, which covers and protects the petals as they develop.
- noun A chamber in the mammalian kidney through which urine passes.
- noun The crown containing the viscera of crinoids and similar echinoderms, entoprocts, and the polyps of some cnidarians.
- noun A funnel-shaped expansion of the vas deferens or oviduct of insects.
- noun A flattened cap of neuropil in the brain of insects.
Etymology
From Latin calyx, from Ancient Greek κάλυξ (kálux, “case of a bud, husk”). Doublet of chalice and kelch.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The covering of a flower. See Flower.
- noun A cuplike division of the pelvis of the kidney, which surrounds one or more of the renal papilæ.
Etymology [L. calyx, -ycis, fr. Gr. Chalice Helmet.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “calyx”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details