corm Hear it!

corm definition

corm (kôrm)

noun

a fleshy, thickened, vertical, underground stem, usually having annual segments with a bud at the tip, thin external scale leaves, and roots at the base, as in the gladiolus: corms differ from bulbs in having much more stem tissue and fewer scale leaves

Etymology: ModL < Gr kormos, trunk of a tree with branches lopped off < keirein, to cut off < IE base *(s)ker- > harvest

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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