dehiscentadj.
/dɪˈhɪsənt/ a. Gaping open; spec., in Botany opening as seed-vessels.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > [adjective] > wide open or gaping
yawningc893
wideOE
wide open?c1225
gap-wide1582
gaping1594
mouthed1609
patulous1616
wide-opened1635
dehiscent1649
discontinuous1667
patulent1712
hiant1800
yawn-mouthed1861
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > seed > seed-vessel or pericarp > [adjective] > dehiscent
ruptile1721
septicidal1812
septifragal1819
sutural1819
circumscissile1835
dehiscing1839
dehiscent1845
porous1861
circumsciss1870
1649 J. Bulwer Pathomyotomia ii. ii. 107 The Mouth..is Dehiscent, yet scarce Dehiscent into a Casme.
1845 J. Lindley School Bot. (1858) i. 17 If..[the fruit] splits into pieces when ripe it is called dehiscent.
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. xix. 145 The period when the dehiscent edges and mountain ravines..have been worn down into rounded hill and gentle valley.
1872 H. Macmillan True Vine iv. 162 The fruits of many plants are dehiscent..they open to scatter the seed.
b. Said of the elytra of insects when they do not meet at the apices; also of antennæ divergent at the tips.
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1889 in Cent. Dict.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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adj.1649