Pollen

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈpÉ’lÉ™n/
• US IPA: /ˈpÉ‘lÉ™n/
• Rhymes: -É’lÉ™n

Origin

From Latin pollen ("fine flour"). (Used by Linnaeus in the 18th century to describe the spores produced in the anthers of flowers.)

Noun

1. Fine powder in general, fine flour (16th century usage documented by OED; no longer common.)
• "...and ther was good wyne of Gascoyne,... as well of pollen, as of other vitailes..." Froissart, Jean, 1338?-1410?; Berners, John Bourchier, Lord https://archive.org/details/chroniclefroiss00froigoog
2. A fine granular substance produced in flowers. Technically a collective term for pollen grains (microspores} produced in the anthers of flowering plants. (This specific usage dating from mid 18th century.)
• 2013, Katrina G. Claw, Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm, In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.

Derived terms

• pollen analysis
• pollenarious
• pollen basket
• pollen count
• pollen counter
• pollen grain
• polleniferous
• pollenize, pollenise
• pollenlike
• pollen mother cell
• pollen parent
• pollen sac
• pollen tube
• polleny