spadix

English · Română

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

spadix

  • /ˈspeɪdɪks/

Rhymes with -eɪdɪks

Where it comes from

Via Latin spādīx from Ancient Greek σπᾱ́δῑξ (spā́dīx, “palm branch”).

noun spadixes · spadices

  1. A fleshy spike (inflorescence) with reduced flowers, usually enclosed by a spathe, characteristic of aroids. The spadix of this plant is frequently quite white, or coloured, and the leaves liable to be streaked with white, and to have black, or scarlet blotches on them.
  2. A male sexual organ of certain cephalopods and hydrozoans (especially the nautilus), used to transfer sperm. However, the shells of modern nautiluses show the opposite pattern—males are somewhat larger than females, with a wider aperture to accommodate the spadix.

Translations

Every language

noun fleshy spike

Españolespádice
DeutschKolben
Românăspadice, spadix
Русскийпочаток počatok

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"spadix." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/spadix. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

spadix. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/spadix

Chicago

"spadix." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/spadix.

BibTeX
@misc{spadix_2026,
  title = {spadix},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/spadix},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}