anther

noun

an·​ther ˈan(t)-thər 

: the part of a stamen that produces and contains pollen and is usually borne on a stalk see flower illustration

antheral

ˈan(t)-thə-rəl 

adjective

Examples of anther in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This exposes the anthers, which contain the plant’s pollen. —Serina Desalvio, Discover Magazine, 18 Nov. 2023

Another difference between the two species is the color of the flower's anthers, which are yellow in Thanksgiving cacti and purplish brown in Christmas cacti. —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 7 Oct. 2023

Pollen is released through one or two small pores at the end of each anther. —Stephen Buchmann, The Conversation, 17 May 2023

Ice and snow in the Hindu Kush Himalayan ranges is an important source of water for those rivers, which flow through 16 countries in Asia and provide fresh water to 240 million people in the mountains and anther 1.65 billion downstream. —Sibi Arasu, Anchorage Daily News, 20 June 2023

These powerful vibrations eject pollen from the anther pores in the form of a cloud that strikes the bee. —Stephen Buchmann, The Conversation, 17 May 2023

In other homes, nodding Easter lilies will cast a vaguely funereal air over the roast—only to be discarded a week later when their anthers stain an antique linen tablecloth in splotches of saffron. —Marianne Willburn, WSJ, 8 Mar. 2023

Each stalk is referred to as a filament and is topped by an anther (which contains the pollen). —Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Feb. 2022

This transfers pollen from the male reproductive organs, called anthers, to the pistils, where pollination commences. —Matt Simon, WIRED, 23 May 2018

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Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin anthēra, going back to Medieval Latin, "medication made from a flower, internal organs of a rose flower (used to make such medications)," going back to Latin, "medication made from a flower," borrowed from Greek anthērá, noun derivative from feminine of anthērós "of a flower, flowery, blooming," from anthe-, ánthos "flower" + -ēros, variant, before s-stems, of -ros, adjective suffix — more at antho-

First Known Use

1783, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

anther

noun

an·​ther ˈan(t)-thər 

: the part of the stamen of a flower that produces and contains pollen and is usually borne on a stalk