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endocarp

endocarp

9.9
A hard inner layer of a fruit that surrounds the seed
  • noun
  • /ˈɛndəˌkɑrp/
  • Specialized
translation icon : endocarpo
  • The cherry's endocarp is the tough covering around the seed.

Examples

  • Olive oil is extracted from the flesh, not from the endocarp containing the pit.

  • The endocarp is hard.

  • In a peach, the seed is enclosed within a hard endocarp that forms the pit.

  • Cherries have a smooth endocarp that protects the seed.

  • The endocarp is the hard layer of a peach that protects the seed inside.

  • In cherries, the endocarp is the part that forms a hard shell around the seed.

  • When you cut open a coconut, you'll find that the endocarp is the tough, brown part that holds the seed.

Synonyms

stone
vsendocarp
60 3.9

The hard inner part of some fruits that contains the seed

is the botanical inner layer that surrounds and protects the seed
pit
vsendocarp
  • US
49 3.2

A hard inner stone in fruits like peaches

is the botanical inner layer described neutrally rather than woody

Surface Forms

endocarp singular
endocarps plural

Morphology

endocarp = carp (opaque) = endo + carp

Built from Greek combining forms ('endo-' + '-carp') that are specialist botanical terms; average learners will not derive the meaning from the parts.

Etymology

Endocarp comes from the parts endo- meaning 'inside' and -carp meaning 'fruit', so the word names the inner part of a fruit that surrounds and protects the seed. Think of the hard pit of a peach — that is the endocarp.