catkin

[ kat-kin ]

noun

, Botany.

1. a spike of unisexual, apetalous flowers having scaly, usually deciduous bracts, as of a willow or birch.

catkin

/ ˈkætkɪn /

noun

1. an inflorescence consisting of a spike, usually hanging, of much reduced flowers of either sex: occurs in birch, hazel, etc Also calledament

catkin

/ kăt′kĭn /

1. A long, thin, indeterminate inflorescence of tiny, petalless flowers growing on willows, birches, oaks, poplars, and certain other trees. The flowers on a catkin are either all male or all female. The female flowers are usually pollinated by the wind.
2. Also called ament
3. See illustration at inflorescence

Other Words From

• cat·kin·ate [kat, -k, uh, -neyt], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of catkin¹

First recorded in 1570–80, catkin is from the Dutch word katteken little cat (now obsolete). See cat, -kin

Word History and Origins

Origin of catkin¹

C16: from obsolete Dutch katteken kitten, identical in meaning with French chaton, German Kätzchen

Example Sentences

To generate more catkins, you need to coppice or pollard, Vanselous said, because “when you do that, it stimulates growth where you cut, which stimulates more catkin growth, because catkins only appear on last year’s growth.”

From Seattle Times

You can see this in the oak catkin “tumbleweeds” on street corners and that yellow coating all over surfaces.

From Washington Post

If you’re interested in making your own bouquet, you can purchase dried flowers at many local floral shops, online from specialty companies or direct from small growers like Sarah Haven of Catkin Flowers in Brunswick, Maine.

From New York Times

Were the chickens — named, by our daughters, Pepper, Barney, Sunny, Lemon Soufflé and Princess Catkin — pets?

From New York Times

Small balls of gray catkin fluff blew on the wind, seedpods from poplars, which bloom all over Warsaw in the spring.

From The New Yorker