noun · 1 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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Received-Pronunciation:/ˌɒlɪɡə(ʊ)ˈlɛkti/
Received-Pronunciation:/ɒˌlɪɡə(ʊ)-/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˌɑləɡoʊˈlɛkti/
General-American:/ˌoʊ-/
General-American:/əˌlɪɡə-/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The preference of an insect pollinator (chiefly a bee) for pollinating only a few plant species.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Topics: biology, entomology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Probably from oligolectic + -y (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting conditions, qualities, or states). Oligolectic is derived from English oligo- (prefix meaning ‘few’) (from Ancient Greek ὀλῐ́γος (olĭ́gos, “few, little”), from Proto-Indo-European *(o)leyg- (“indigent, poor; miserable”)) + Ancient Greek λεκτός (lektós, “chosen”) (from λέγω (légō, “to choose; to arrange; to gather”), from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to collect, gather”)) + English -ic (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ from nouns), possibly modelled after eclectic.
Across languages
Translations
6 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
قِلَّة الجَمْع
— preference of an insect pollinator for pollinating only a few plant species
French:
oligolectisme
— preference of an insect pollinator for pollinating only a few plant species
German:
Oligolektie
— preference of an insect pollinator for pollinating only a few plant species
Russian:
олиголе́кция
(oligolékcija)
— preference of an insect pollinator for pollinating only a few plant species
Spanish:
oligolectia
— preference of an insect pollinator for pollinating only a few plant species
Swedish:
oligolekti
— preference of an insect pollinator for pollinating only a few plant species