calyx

Alternative forms

• calix

Etymology

Latin calyx, from Ancient Greek κάλυξ (kálux, “case of a bud, husk”). Doublet of chalice.

Noun

calyx (plural calyces or calyxes)

1. (botany) The outermost whorl of flower parts, comprising the sepals, which covers and protects the petals as they develop.
2. (zoology, anatomy) Any of various cup-like structures.
   1. A chamber in the mammalian kidney through which urine passes.
   2. The crown containing the viscera of crinoids and similar echinoderms, entoprocts, and the polyps of some cnidarians.
   3. A funnel-shaped expansion of the vas deferens or oviduct of insects.
   4. A flattened cap of neuropil in the brain of insects.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek κάλυξ (kálux, “case of a bud, husk”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈka.lyks/, [ˈka.lʏks]

Noun

calyx m (genitive calycis); third declension

1. The bud, cup, or calyx of a flower or nut.
2. A plant of two kinds, resembling the arum, perhaps the monk's hood.
3. (by extension) The shell of fruits, pericarp.
4. (by extension) An eggshell.
5. A fitting on a Roman pipe

References

• https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/calyx
• https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/calyx
• calyx in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• calyx in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette