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epicarp

epicarp

9.9
The outer skin of a fruit like a peach or grape
  • noun
  • /ˈɛpɪˌkɑrp/
  • Specialized
translation icon : epicarpo
  • When peeling a peach, you remove the epicarp to reveal the sweet flesh inside.

Examples

  • The epicarp of an orange is thick and often bitter.

  • Grape epicarp contains pigments that give the fruit its color.

  • The epicarp protects the fruit.

  • Look at the epicarp of this peach!

  • The epicarp of an orange is thick and often bitter.

  • When peeling a peach, you remove the epicarp to reveal the sweet flesh inside.

  • Grape epicarp contains pigments that give the fruit its color.

Synonyms

skin
vsepicarp
92 1.0

The thin outer part of a fruit or vegetable

is the scientific term for that thin outer covering of the fruit wall
exocarp
vsepicarp
  • Specialized
9.9

The outer skin of a fruit like a peach or grape

has identical meaning but is an alternate technical label for the same layer
pericarp
vsepicarp
  • Specialized
9.8

Part of a fruit that surrounds and protects the seeds

is only the outermost layer of that wall and not its whole structure

Surface Forms

epicarp singular
epicarps plural

Morphology

epicarp = epi + carp

Formed from Greek combining elements ('epi-' + '-carp') that are not productive standalone English words and the term is specialized botanical vocabulary, so learners cannot reliably derive the meaning from common English base words.

Etymology

The word epicarp comes from the Greek parts epi- meaning 'on' and carp meaning 'fruit', and it is like epidermis, the skin of a person, but for fruit. So epicarp is the outer skin you see on grapes, peaches, or oranges.