capsule
6
7.0
- noun
- /ˈkæpsəl/
- Specialized
:
cápsula
- Each capsule contains 200 to 300 tiny seeds that release when the tree is stressed.
Examples
-
The rose plant produces charming seed capsules that burst open to release tiny seeds.
-
An empty, wide egg capsule suggests that an egg was recently released from the capsule.
Academic text (1993) -
And then we're just going to gently push that lettuce seed capsule in just like that.
-
After the petals dropped, the seed capsules were all harvested in the middle.
Fiction book (2002) -
Seventy-year-old Mer explained, "You could only cut the poppy capsule at the right time; otherwise, the seeds would be ruined."
Academic text (2011) -
After the flowers wilt, the pod-like capsules will form and contain the seeds.
-
Gardeners often collect the dried capsules for planting new flowers in the spring.
Synonyms
1
2.7
A pod that contains seeds and opens when ripe
The part of a plant that holds the small parts that grow into new plants after flowering
The part of a plant that holds and protects seeds
Compounds
- Specialized
5
4.2
A small spacecraft that carries people in space and returns to Earth
- Specialized
A thin sac that surrounds tiny blood vessels in the kidney and helps filter blood to make urine
- Archaic
A small spacecraft that follows a curved path to carry people into space
- Specialized
A thin two-layer wall around a small knot of blood vessels in the kidney that starts filtering blood
Surface Forms
Etymology
Capsule comes from the Latin word capsula, a little form of capsa meaning 'box'. In plants a 'capsule' is a small box that holds seeds and then opens to let them out, so the name matches the little seed container.