noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A catkin or similar inflorescence.

   "[T]he scales of the ament in the salix rosea, rose-willow, grow into leaves; and produce other kinds of monsters."

2. 2
   A congenital idiot.
3. 3
   a cylindrical spikelike inflorescence wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

catkinaboutborn foolcapitulumcatkinclot

Example

More examples

"[T]he scales of the ament in the salix rosea, rose-willow, grow into leaves; and produce other kinds of monsters."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Latin āmentum (“thong, string”).

Etymology 2

From Latin amens.

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