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Glite Dictionary
endocarp

endocarp

1 9.9
A hard inner layer of a fruit that surrounds the seed
  • noun
  • /ˈɛndəˌkɑrp/
  • Specialized
: 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

pit
vsendocarp
  • US
11 3.2

A hard inner stone in fruits like peaches

is the botanical inner layer described neutrally rather than woody
stone
vsendocarp
1 3.9

The hard inner part of some fruits that contains the seed

is the botanical inner layer that surrounds and protects the seed

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.