carpel

C3A1R1P3E1L1
/ˈkɑː(ɹ)pəl/

noun

A constituent part of a flower pistil: the female reproductive organs in a flower. A carpel is composed of an ovary, a style, and a stigma, although some flowers have carpels without a distinct style. In origin, carpels are leaves (megasporophylls) that have evolved to enclose the ovules. A pistil may be composed of a single carpel or of several carpels fused together.

Similar
carpophyll
OriginFrench carpelle ← New Latin carpellum ← Ancient Greek κᾰρπός →
UncommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

nouncarpel (plural carpels)

plural carpels

  1. biologyA constituent part of a flower pistil: the female reproductive organs in a flower. A carpel is composed of an ovary, a style, and a stigma, although some flowers have carpels without a distinct style. In origin, carpels are leaves (megasporophylls) that have evolved to enclose the ovules. A pistil may be composed of a single carpel or of several carpels fused together.

    Synonyms: carpophyll

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA constituent part of a flower pistil: the female reproductive organs in a flower. A carpel is composed of an ovary, a style, and a stigma, although some flowers have carpels without a distinct style. In origin, carpels are leaves (megasporophylls) that have evolved to enclose the ovules. A pistil may be composed of a single carpel or of several carpels fused together.

Similar
carpophyll
Also see
carpellumcarpophyll

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kerp-“to pluck, harvest”
  2. Ancient Greekκᾰρπός“fruit”
  3. New Latincarpellum
  4. Frenchcarpelle
  5. Englishcarpel

1835, borrowed from French carpelle, from New Latin carpellum, a diminutive of Ancient Greek κᾰρπός (kărpós, “fruit”), from Proto-Indo-European *kerp- (“to pluck, harvest”).

More words from French, New Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan carpel
  • carpelstructural unit of a pistil
Chinese Mandarin 心皮
  • 心皮 (xīnpí)structural unit of a pistil
Czech pestík
  • pestíkstructural unit of a pistil
Dutch vruchtblad
  • vruchtbladstructural unit of a pistil
Finnish emilehti
  • emilehtistructural unit of a pistil
French carpelle
  • carpellestructural unit of a pistil
Greek καρπόφυλλο
  • καρπόφυλλο (karpófyllo)structural unit of a pistil
Hungarian termőlevél
  • termőlevélstructural unit of a pistil
Italian carpello
  • carpellostructural unit of a pistil
Japanese 心皮
  • 心皮 (shinpi)structural unit of a pistil
Polish owocolistek
  • owocolistekstructural unit of a pistil
Portuguese carpelo
  • carpelostructural unit of a pistil
Romanian carpelă
  • carpelăstructural unit of a pistil
Russian плодоли́стик
  • плодоли́стик (plodolístik)structural unit of a pistil
Spanish carpelo
  • carpelostructural unit of a pistil

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with carpel

carpalmetacarpaltelemetacarpal
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

carpal

Anagrams

parcelplacer
Cite this entry
APA

carpel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carpel

MLA

“carpel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carpel. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “carpel,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carpel.

Source: carpel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.