noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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UK:/əˈkiːn/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -iːn
CMU ARPABET:AH0 K IY1 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A small, dry, indehiscent fruit, containing a single seed, as in the buttercup.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: achenium, spermidium, naked seed
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
small dry indehiscent fruit with the seed distinct from the fruit wall
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: fruit
Narrower terms: samara, key fruit, key
History
Etymology
From French achène and its source, New Latin achena, from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “a-”) + χαίνω (khaínō, “to gape”).
Across languages
Translations
25 source translations are retained for this English entry.