ESTIVATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does estivation mean? 

• ESTIVATION (noun)
  The noun ESTIVATION has 2 senses:

1. (zoology) cessation or slowing of activity during the summer; especially slowing of metabolism in some animals during a hot or dry period

2. (botany) the arrangement of sepals and petals in a flower bud before it opens

  Familiarity information: ESTIVATION used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ESTIVATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(zoology) cessation or slowing of activity during the summer; especially slowing of metabolism in some animals during a hot or dry period

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

aestivation; estivation

Hypernyms ("estivation" is a kind of...):

dormancy; quiescence; quiescency (a state of quiet (but possibly temporary) inaction)

Domain category:

zoological science; zoology (the branch of biology that studies animals)

Derivation:

estivate (sleep during summer)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(botany) the arrangement of sepals and petals in a flower bud before it opens

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

aestivation; estivation

Hypernyms ("estivation" is a kind of...):

arrangement (an orderly grouping (of things or persons) considered as a unit; the result of arranging)

Domain category:

botany; phytology (the branch of biology that studies plants)

Holonyms ("estivation" is a part of...):

flower bud (a bud from which only a flower or flowers develop)