Pericarp
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The outermost layer, or skin, of a ripe fruit or ovary.
"When, as in the cherry, the different layers of the pericarp are well-defined and largely developed, they received distinctive names ; the outer skin is the epicarp (epi, upon, carpon, a fruit), the middle fleshy part is the mesocarp (mesos, middle) ; and the innermost hard shell is the endocarp (endos, within) ; in other words the pericarp is made up of epicarp, mesocarp, and endocarp. […] In all normal fruits these three layers of the pericarp are present […]."
- 2 the ripened and variously modified walls of a plant ovary wordnet
- 3 The outer layer of anything. figuratively, rare
"He learned, afternoon after afternoon, how to edge her into delicious frenzies, how to tremble the clitoris, pericarp, and tip."
Example
More examples"When, as in the cherry, the different layers of the pericarp are well-defined and largely developed, they received distinctive names ; the outer skin is the epicarp (epi, upon, carpon, a fruit), the middle fleshy part is the mesocarp (mesos, middle) ; and the innermost hard shell is the endocarp (endos, within) ; in other words the pericarp is made up of epicarp, mesocarp, and endocarp. […] In all normal fruits these three layers of the pericarp are present […]."
Etymology
From French péricarpe, from New Latin pericarpium, from Ancient Greek περικάρπιον (perikárpion, “pod, husk, shell”), from περι- (peri-, “around”) + καρπός (karpós, “fruit”). By surface analysis, peri- + -carp.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.