noun · 4 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.
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Pronunciation
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/kəˈlɪkjələs/
rhymes with -ɪkjələs
1
noun
Meaning 1
Any cup-shaped structure.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A group of bracts resembling an outer calyx.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK
Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: calycule
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a small cup-shaped structure (as a taste bud or optic cup or cavity of a coral containing a polyp)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: caliculus, calycle
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: structure, anatomical structure, complex body part, bodily structure, body structure
Narrower terms: optic cup, eyecup
4
noun
Meaning 4
a group of bracts simulating a calyx as in a carnation or hibiscus
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: epicalyx, false calyx, calycle
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: bract
History
Etymology
From Latin calyculus (“small flower bud, calyx”), diminutive of calyx. By surface analysis, calyc- + -ulus.
Across languages
Translations
3 source translations are retained for this English entry.