bryophyte
/ˈbɹaɪ̯.əˌfaɪt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.35 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
1
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any plant of the division Bryophyta, defined sensu lato to comprise the mosses, liverworts and hornworts and corresponding to all embryophytes that are not vascular plants.
Example Sentences
- "Without going into their reasons, Bold, Alexopoulos, & DelBevoryas (1980) and Crandall-Stotler (1980) believe that there are at least three independent lines of bryophytes and that this is best reflected by establishing three divisions - the Bryophyta (mosses), Hepatophyta (liverworts), and Anthocerotophyta (hornworts)."
- "2002, William R. Buck, Bryophytes, entry in Niles Eldredge (editor), Life on Earth, page 202, Because of their small size and often delicate structure, bryophytes have a poor fossil record, dating back only about 290 million years."
- "And so it was that I was introduced to Len Ellis and the quiet world of bryophytes – mosses to the rest of us."
Etymology
Borrowed from translingual Bryophyta, from Ancient Greek βρύον (brúon, “moss”) + φυτόν (phutón, “plant”) ( + -phyte).
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbɹaɪ̯.əˌfaɪt/
- British English: /ˈbɹʌɪ̯.əˌfʌɪt/