Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
photoperiodism

photoperiodism

1 9.1
A response of living things to day length that affects growth and behaviour, for example flowering
  • noun
  • /ˌfoʊtəˈpɪəriəˌdɪzəm/
  • Specialized
: fotoperiodismo
  • Many crops rely on photoperiodism to trigger their growing cycles in response to seasonal changes.

Examples

  • The three men formed an informal team to find the substance that controls photoperiodism.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Photoperiodism is crucial for determining when photoperiodism plants flower and produce fruits.

  • Is it possible that the adaptation of photoperiodism would prevent its southern movement?

    Academic text (1992)

  • Discovered that flowering in many plants is controlled by changes in day length, a concept called photoperiodism.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Research shows that photoperiodism significantly impacts the growth and development of certain plant species.

Surface Forms

photoperiodism singular
photoperiodisms plural

Morphology

photoperiodism = photoperiod (semi-transparent) = photo + period + ism

The word is built transparently from 'photoperiod' plus '-ism', but the biological sense is specialized and not fully guessable for an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Photoperiodism comes from photo- meaning 'light', as in photograph, and period meaning 'a length of time'. So, the word is about how living things use the length of daylight to decide when to grow, flower, or change their behavior.