There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zoocarp . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.
This word is now obsolete. It is last recorded around the 1880s.
The earliest known use of the noun zoocarp is in the 1820s.
OED's earliest evidence for zoocarp is from 1824, in Monthly Review .
Nearby entries zonular, adj. 1835– zonule, n. 1828– zonulet, n. 1648 zonure, n. 1883– zoo, n. 1835– zoo-, comb. form zooarchaeological, adj. 1962– zooarchaeologist, n. 1957– zooarchaeology, n. 1967– zoobenthos, n. 1923– zoocarp, n. 1824–88 zoocaulon, n. 1881– zoocentric, adj. 1882– zoochemical, adj. & n. 1844– zoochemistry, n. 1835– zoochlorella, n. 1882– zoochore, n. 1904– zoochorous, adj. 1904– zoochory, n. 1921– zoo-crazy, adj. 1938– zoocultural, adj. 1899–
1824–88
A motile spore or single-celled organism, esp. a zoospore.
1824
We find..a very abbreviated notice of Zoocarps , or animated germs of certain non-descript Algæ,..on such a curious and mysterious subject, we could have welcomed a little more specialty. Monthly Review vol. 105 App. 495
1843
Zoocarpes , the name given to certain organized bodies which have been variously classed..as animals or plants... It is in the lower forms more particularly that the Zoocarps occur. Penny Cyclopaedia vol. XXVII. 804
1888
Zoocarp , a zoospore. Cassell's Encyclopædic Dictionary vol. VII. ii. 632/3
▶ more ▼ less A motile spore or single-celled organism, esp. a zoospore.
A spore or spore-granule. In Botany.
A motile spore or single-celled organism, esp. a zoospore.
A motile flagellate spore, as produced by certain algae, fungi, and protozoans. Cf. zoosperm , n. 2.
A portion of a plant, fungus, etc., that is capable, when detached, of giving rise to a new individual by asexual or sexual reproduction (e.g. a leaf…
Botany . A detachable bud-like organ, typically produced by certain aquatic plants, which functions as a vegetative propagule. Cf. turion , n. …
A zoospore formed by conjugation; a motile zygospore.
A spore produced in a sporangium.
A motile spore, a zoospore.
A motile spore, gamete, or zygote; esp. the motile stage of certain microsporidian protozoans or phycomycetes.
Originally published as part of the entry for zoo-, comb. form
zoo-, comb. form was revised in June 2017.
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