Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various perennial herbs in the family Araceae, having tiny flowers crowded in a spadix that is subtended by a spathe and including houseplants such as anthurium, dieffenbachia, and philodendron.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Like or representing the genus Arum or the family Araceæ: as, an aroid type.
  • noun One of the Aroideœ or Araceœ.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective (Bot.) Belonging to, or resembling, the Arum family of plants (Araceae).
  • noun (Bot.) Any plant of the Arum family (Araceæ); -- have small flowers massed on a spadix surrounded by a large spathe.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any plant of the family Araceae, found chiefly in the tropics

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective relating to a plant of the family Araceae
  • noun any plant of the family Araceae; have small flowers massed on a spadix surrounded by a large spathe

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[ar(um) + –oid.]

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Examples

  • The Sumatra rain forests are home to some of the world's most charismatic flowering plants: Rafflesia arnoldii, which produces the largest flower in the world (up to 1 meters (m) wide), and Amorphophallus titanum, which stands more than 2 m tall and produces aroid flowers.

    Sumatran lowland rain forests 2008

  • Other rare plants include the sedge Machaerina rubiginosa, the aroid Cyrtosperma merkusii, and floating water plants such as Hydrocharis dubia and water chestnut (Trapa maximoviscii).

    Western Java rain forests 2008

  • W. Pownall, the representative of the Australian Wine Company, explained before the Vegetable Products Commission in Victoria, a knowledge of cellar routine and cellar work would aroid the spoiling of much good wine.

    The Art of Living in Australia 2004

  • He had been at pains, too, to smooth down the face of the rock for the reception of the unshaded daubs of terra-cotta, using peradventure the flat stone upon which he was wont to bruise the hot and biting roots of the aroid

    The Confessions of a Beachcomber 2003

  • In vegetation so dense it was sometimes impossible to find the ground, we collected wild begonias and salvias, delicate ferns and oxalis, boehmerias and at least three unknown plants, a new species of Dalbergia, a new Centropogon with a brilliant red corolla, and an exquisite aroid later named for Tim, Caladium plowmanii.

    One River Wade Davis 1996

  • In vegetation so dense it was sometimes impossible to find the ground, we collected wild begonias and salvias, delicate ferns and oxalis, boehmerias and at least three unknown plants, a new species of Dalbergia, a new Centropogon with a brilliant red corolla, and an exquisite aroid later named for Tim, Caladium plowmanii.

    One River Wade Davis 1996

  • In Part III (38 mins., beginning the second videotape), he discusses corm-producing aroid species such as tanias, taros, eddoes and dasheens.

    Chapter 24 1996

  • Chemical composition of nine edible aroid cultivars of Bangladesh.

    Chapter 18 1987

  • Chemical composition of nine edible aroid cultivars of Bangladesh.

    Chapter 16 1987

  • The classical example of this is the treatment, before eating, of yams (Dioscorea spp.) and keladis, taros, cocoyams (aroid yams of the genera Colocasia, Xanthosoma, Amorphophallus), tapioca, cassava (Manihot esculenta Cranz), and the so-called cabbages of palms.

    Chapter 19 1979

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