Adjacent Words

Caprification definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CAPRIFICATION, n. A method of ripening figs by means of a gnat or insect that pricks the bud.

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Latin caprification-, caprificatio, from caprificare to pollinate by caprification, from caprificus Date: 1601 artificial pollination of figs that usually bear only pistillate flowers by hanging male flowering branches of the caprifig in the trees to facilitate pollen transfer by a fig wasp

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Caprification Cap`ri*fi*ca"tion, n. [L. caprificatio, fr. caprificare to ripen figs by caprification, fr. caprificus the wild fig; caper goat + ficus fig.] The practice of hanging, upon the cultivated fig tree, branches of the wild fig infested with minute hymenopterous insects. Note: It is supposed that the little insects insure fertilization by carrying the pollen from the male flowers near the opening of the fig down to the female flowers, and also accelerate ripening the fruit by puncturing it. The practice has existed since ancient times, but its benefit has been disputed.