noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A small, dry, indehiscent fruit, containing a single seed, as in the buttercup.

   "The mulberry puts forth its messy clusters of achenes."

2. 2
   small dry indehiscent fruit with the seed distinct from the fruit wall wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

acheniumspermidium

Example

More examples

"The mulberry puts forth its messy clusters of achenes."

Etymology

From French achène and its source, New Latin achena, from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “a-”) + χαίνω (khaínō, “to gape”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.