thyrse
English edit
Etymology edit
From Ancient Greek θύρσος (thúrsos) via Latin thyrsus and French thyrse. Doublet of thyrsus and torso.
Noun edit
thyrse (plural thyrses)
- (botany) A type of inflorescence; a compact panicle having an obscured main axis and cymose subaxes.
- 1804, Benjamin Smith Barton, Elements of Botany, page 143:
- The Thyrsus *, or Thyrse, is a mode of inflorescence very nearly allied to the panicle, being, in fact, a panicle contracted into an ovate, or egg-shaped form. In the thyrse, the middle footstalks, which are longer, extend horizontally, whilst the upper and lower oes are shorter, and rise up vertically.
- 1840, Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, translated by Boughton Kingdon, Vegetable Organography, volume II, page 24:
- The example of the thyrse of Eugenia leads us to understand several inflorescences which resemble also racemes or panicles; such are the thyrses of the Lilac.
- 1998, D. W. Stevenson, M. Colella, B. Boom, Rapateaceae, Klaus Kubitzki, H. Huber (editors), The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, Volume IV: Flowering Plants, Monocotyledons: Alismatanae and Commelinanae (except Gramineae), page 417,
- The number of spikelets is variable, and some genera have thyrses with 70 spikelets (Saxofridericia, Spathanthus) or only 1-3 spikelets per inflorescence (Stegolepsis, Monotrema).
- (archaic) A thyrsus (staff with conical ornament).
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
type of inflorescence
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin thyrsus, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek θύρσος (thúrsos). Doublet of torse, a borrowing from Italian.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
thyrse m (plural thyrses)
Descendants edit
- → English: thyrse (also via Latin)
Further reading edit
- “thyrse”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Latin edit
Noun edit
thyrse