cycad noun. ['sʌɪkad] M19.
[from mod. Latin Cycas genus name, from supposed Greek kukas, scribal error for koikas accus. pl. of koix Egyptian doum-palm: see -AD¹.]
An evergreen palmlike gymnospermous plant of the order Cycadales (including many fossil forms), and esp. of the genus Cycas, some members of which yield sago.

■ cy'cadean adjective of, pertaining to, or resembling (that of) a cycad M19.

■ cy'cadeoid adjective & noun (of, pertaining to, or designating) a cycadophyte of the extinct Mesozoic order Bennettitales (of Cycadeoidales) M19.

■ cyca'daceous adjective of or pertaining to a cycad or the cycads, or the family Cycadaceae M19.

■ cycadophyte noun a plant of the group Cycadophyta, which includes cycads and related fossil forms M20.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲