semelparous

adjective

sem·el·pa·rous | \ ˌse-ˈmel-pə-rəs

\

Definition of semelparous

: reproducing or breeding only once in a lifetime semelparous salmon

Breaking Down Semelparous

The combining form -parous was first used in English by the 17th-century physician and writer Sir Thomas Browne, who wrote about organisms that were multiparous ("producing more than one at a birth"), oviparous ("producing eggs that develop outside the maternal body"), and viviparous ("producing living young instead of eggs from within the body"). The suffix is based on the Latin verb parere, meaning "to give birth to," which is also a relative of the word that gave us parent. Semelparous, the youngest offspring of -parous, was born in 1954. Its other parent is semel, the Latin word for "once."

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about semelparous

Listen to Our Podcast about semelparous

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Dictionary Entries near semelparous

Statistics for semelparous

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for semelparous

The first known use of semelparous was in 1954

See more words from the same year

Comments on semelparous

What made you want to look up semelparous? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

WORD OF THE DAY

hoopla

excited commotion or publicity

Test Your Vocabulary

What did you just call me?! A Quiz

If a member of the audience describes your speech as bombastic, does that person mean it is:

rousing and inspiring pompous and overblown

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games