Dictionary entry

Proliferous

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Pro‐lif″er‐ous (?), a. [L. proles offspring + -ferous.]

1. (Bot.) Bearing offspring; — applied to a flower from within which another is produced, or to a branch or frond from which another rises, or to a plant which is reproduced by buds or gemmæ.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) Producing young by budding. (b) Producing sexual zooids by budding; — said of the blastostyle of a hydroid. (c) Producing a cluster of branchlets from a larger branch; — said of corals.

Proliferous cyst(Med.), a cyst that produces highly-organized or even vascular structures. Paget.

— Pro‐lif″er‐ous‐ly, adv.