This week’s theme
Words that sound dirty, but aren’t

This week’s words
invaginate
fucate
sexpartite
cockalane
autogamous

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(aw-TAH-guh-muhs)

MEANING:

adjective: Self-fertilizing.

ETYMOLOGY:

From autogamy, from German Autogamie, coined in 1876 by Austrian botanist Anton Kerner von Marilaun (1831-1898).Earliest documented use: 1880.

NOTES:

Being autogamous is capable of reproduction without a second individual. If you want something done right, do it yourself. The autogamous motto. It’s the scientific term for single-player mode. A related term is hermaphrodite.

USAGE:

“On occasion, they can even be autogamous. Or, as [Taylor] Knapp put it, ‘usually you need two snails, but one could do it on his own, too.’”
Erica Marcus; Peconic Escargot in Cutchogue Provides Fresh, Local Snails to Long Island Restaurants; Newsday (Long Island, New York); Jul 13, 2017.

See more usage examples of autogamous in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: