gymnosperm

G2Y4M3N1O1S1P3E1R1M3

noun

Any plant such as a conifer whose seeds are not enclosed in an ovary.

OriginAncient Greek γυμνός →
RareScrabble 20
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Meanings

noungymnosperm (plural gymnosperms)

plural gymnosperms

  1. biologyAny plant such as a conifer whose seeds are not enclosed in an ovary.

    Like cycads — their gymnosperm relatives — and ferns, the ginkgo produces motile sperm.

    2015 October 29, Dave Taft, “The Female Ginkgo Tree’s Acrid Smell of Success”, in The New York Times
    1 more example

    The palynoassemblage is rich in angiosperm taxa (45.63%) followed by gymnosperms (0.45%), pteridophytes (18.49%) and fungal remains (23.88%).

    2016 March 2, “Depositional Environment of Mio-Pliocene Siwalik Sedimentary Strata from the Darjeeling Himalayan Foothills, India: A Palynological Approach”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekγυμνός“naked”
  2. Englishgymnosperm

from Ancient Greek γυμνός (gumnós, “naked”) + σπέρμα (spérma, “seed”). By surface analysis, gymno- + sperm.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan gimnosperma
  • gimnospermaplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Chinese Mandarin 裸子植物
  • 裸子植物 (luǒzǐzhíwù)plant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Dutch naaktzadige
  • naaktzadigeplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Esperanto nudsemplanto, gimnospermo
  • nudsemplantoplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
  • gimnospermoplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Estonian paljasseemnetaim
  • paljasseemnetaimplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Finnish paljassiemeninen
  • paljassiemeninenplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
French gymnosperme
  • gymnospermeplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
German Nacktsamer, nacktsamige Pflanze
  • Nacktsamerplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
  • nacktsamige Pflanzeplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Hindi विवृतबीज, विवृतबीजी
  • विवृतबीज (vivŕtbīj)plant whose seeds are not in an ovary
  • विवृतबीजी (vivŕtbījī)plant whose seeds are not in an ovary
  • अनावृतबीज (anāvŕtbīj)plant whose seeds are not in an ovary
  • अनावृतबीजी (anāvŕtbījī)plant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Hungarian nyitvatermő
  • nyitvatermőplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Italian gimnosperma
  • gimnospermaplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Japanese 裸子植物
  • 裸子植物 (rashi shokubutsu)plant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Korean 겉씨식물
  • 겉씨식물 (geotssisingmul)plant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Polish roślina nagonasienna, roślina nagozalążkowa
  • roślina nagonasiennaplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
  • roślina nagozalążkowaplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Portuguese gimnosperma
  • gimnospermaplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Spanish gimnosperma
  • gimnospermaplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Swedish gymnosperm, nakenfröig växt
  • gymnospermplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
  • nakenfröig växtplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Vietnamese thực vật hạt trần, thực vật khỏa tử
  • thực vật hạt trầnplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
  • thực vật khỏa tửplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Welsh noeth-hadog
  • noeth-hadogplant whose seeds are not in an ovary
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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