antherozoid
- noun
- /ˌænθəroʊˈzɔɪd/
- Specialized
:
antherozoide
- Unlike pollen grains, the antherozoid must actively move toward the female gamete in many non-flowering plants.
Examples
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The antherozoid swims through a thin film of water to reach the egg cell for fertilization.
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The antherozoid swims towards the egg cell.
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Botanists observed the movement of the antherozoids under a microscope during the fern's reproductive cycle.
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Many plants produce antherozoids for reproduction.
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Botanists observed the movement of the antherozoids under a microscope during the fern's reproductive cycle.
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The antherozoid swims through a thin film of water to reach the egg cell for fertilization.
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Unlike pollen grains, the antherozoid must actively move toward the female gamete in many non-flowering plants.
Synonyms
A moving male cell in plants like ferns that fertilizes eggs
A male sex cell that swims and can fertilize an egg
Surface Forms
Morphology
antherozoid = anther (opaque) = anthero + zoid
Formed by combining specialized botanical combining forms ('anthero-' + '-zoid'), the term is technical and its meaning (a motile plant gamete) is not predictable to average learners from the components.
Etymology
The word antherozoid breaks into anthero-, from a word for the 'anther', the plant part that holds pollen, and -zoid, like 'zoo' or 'animal', meaning 'moving being'. So an antherozoid is a moving male cell that swims from the anther toward the egg to fertilize it.
