amplectant, a.
(æmˈplɛktənt)
[ad. mod.L. amplectans, amplectant-, alteration of or a mistake for cl. L. amplectens pr. pple. of amplectī: see amplect v., -ant1.]
1. Embracing, clasping; spec. in Bot., twining tightly about some support. rare—0.
| [1826 Kirby & Spence Introd. Entomol. IV. xlvi. 331 Amplectent (Amplecteus), when posteriorly it is so curved as to form a large sinus which embraces the Dorsolum. 1832 J. Lindley Introd. Bot. iv. 415 Embracing (amplectans), clasping with the base.] 1857 A. Gray First Lessons Bot. 204 Amplectant, embracing. 1954 H. I. Featherly Taxon. Terminol. Higher Plants 4/1 Amplectant, embracing, clasping by the base. |
2. Zool. Of a frog or toad: engaged in amplexus.
| [1951 R. Rugh Frog iv. 73 As the frog's egg is shed into the water, the male (in amplectic embrace)..sheds clouds of spermatozoa over the eggs.] 1954 Texas Jrnl. Sci. VI. 73 Many amplecant [sic] pairs of B. punctatis were presently found in the water or on the banks. 1979 Nature 6 Dec. 611/1 We collected amplectant pairs of toads from several breeding congregations. 1983 A. Arak in P. Bateson Mate Choice viii. 182 (caption) Like many other explosive breeders, males ‘scramble’ for females and attempt to dislodge amplectant males. 1991 Jrnl. Herpetol. XXV. 324 Nor was there a correlation between the body size of the amplectant males and their female partners. |