zamia

za·mi·a

 (zā′mē-ə)

n.

Any of various chiefly tropical American cycads of the genus Zamia, having a thick, usually underground stem, palmlike terminal leaves, and seeds borne in woody cones.

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[New Latin Zamia, genus name, from misreading of (nūcēs) azāniae, pine cone (nuts), probably from Greek azainein, to dry up, from azein, to dry; see as- in Indo-European roots.]

zamia

(ˈzeɪmɪə)

n

(Plants) any cycadaceous plant of the genus Zamia, of tropical and subtropical America, having a short thick trunk, palmlike leaves, and short stout cones

[C19: from New Latin, from Latin zamiae, erroneous reading of phrase nucēs azāniae pine cones, probably from Greek azainein to dry up]

za•mi•a

(ˈzeɪ mi ə)

n., pl. -mi•as.

any of various plants of the genus Zamia, chiefly of tropical and subtropical America, having a short, tuberous stem and a crown of palmlike pinnate leaves.

[1810–20]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

zamia - any of various cycads of the genus Zamia; among the smallest and most verdant cycads cycad - any tropical gymnosperm of the order Cycadales; having unbranched stems with a crown of fernlike leaves genus Zamia - genus of small evergreen tropical and subtropical American cycads coontie, Florida arrowroot, Seminole bread, Zamia pumila - small tough woody zamia of Florida and West Indies and Cuba; roots and half-buried stems yield an arrowroot