gynæcophore

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

English compound: gynæc- +‎ -o- +‎ -phore: originates from Ancient Greek conjunction: γῠναικο- (gunaiko-, female) plus -φορος (-phoros, bearing).

Noun[edit]

gynæcophore (plural gynæcophores)

  1. (zoology) Receptacle in the bodies of certain male animals (such as schistosomes) in which females may be contained.
    • 1877, Thomas Henry Huxley, A manual of the anatomy of invertebrated animals[1], page 202:
      Diœcious Trematodes are very rare, the most important being the formidable Bilharzia, the male of which is the larger and retains the female in a gyncæcophore, or canal, which is formed by the infolding of the margins of the concave side of the body.

References[edit]