zamia
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za·mi·a
(zā′mē-ə)n.
Any of various chiefly tropical American cycads of the genus Zamia, having a thick, usually underground stem, palmlike terminal leaves, and seeds borne in woody cones.
[New Latin Zamia, genus name, from misreading of (nūcēs) azāniae, pine cone (nuts), probably from Greek azainein, to dry up, from azein, to dry; see as- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
zamia
(ˈzeɪmɪə)n
(Plants) any cycadaceous plant of the genus Zamia, of tropical and subtropical America, having a short thick trunk, palmlike leaves, and short stout cones
[C19: from New Latin, from Latin zamiae, erroneous reading of phrase nucēs azāniae pine cones, probably from Greek azainein to dry up]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
za•mi•a
(ˈzeɪ mi ə)n., pl. -mi•as.
any of various plants of the genus Zamia, chiefly of tropical and subtropical America, having a short, tuberous stem and a crown of palmlike pinnate leaves.
[1810–20]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. |  zamia - any of various cycads of the genus Zamia; among the smallest and most verdant cycadscycad - any tropical gymnosperm of the order Cycadales; having unbranched stems with a crown of fernlike leaves genus Zamia - genus of small evergreen tropical and subtropical American cycads coontie, Florida arrowroot, Seminole bread, Zamia pumila - small tough woody zamia of Florida and West Indies and Cuba; roots and half-buried stems yield an arrowroot |
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