CALYCULUS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does calyculus mean? 

• CALYCULUS (noun)
  The noun CALYCULUS has 2 senses:

1. a group of bracts simulating a calyx as in a carnation or hibiscus

2. a small cup-shaped structure (as a taste bud or optic cup or cavity of a coral containing a polyp)

  Familiarity information: CALYCULUS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CALYCULUS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A group of bracts simulating a calyx as in a carnation or hibiscus

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

calycle; calyculus; epicalyx; false calyx

Hypernyms ("calyculus" is a kind of...):

bract (a modified leaf or leaflike part just below and protecting an inflorescence)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A small cup-shaped structure (as a taste bud or optic cup or cavity of a coral containing a polyp)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

caliculus; calycle; calyculus

Hypernyms ("calyculus" is a kind of...):

anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure (a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing and its construction and arrangement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "calyculus"):

eyecup; optic cup ((embryology) a two-walled cuplike depression that develops into the pigmented and sensory layers of the retina)

Derivation:

calicular; calycular (relating to or resembling a calyculus)