catkin
noun
Forms catkins
- noun (botany) A type of inflorescence, consisting of an axis with many unisexual apetalous flowers along its sides, as in the willow and poplar.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle Dutch katteken (“catkin”, literally “little cat”). So named due to the resemblance of lengthier kinds to a kitten's tail, or, perhaps more probably, the fine fur found on some catkins (compare the pictures). Cognate with German Kätzchen, modern Dutch katje; compare French chaton (“kitten”; “catkin”). By surface analysis, cat + -kin.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An ament; a species of inflorescence, consisting of a slender axis with many unisexual apetalous flowers along its sides, as in the willow and poplar, and (as to the staminate flowers) in the chestnut, oak, hickory, etc. --so called from its resemblance to a cat's tail. See Illust. of Ament.
Etymology [Cat + -kin.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “catkin”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details