cycad definitions

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any tropical gymnosperm of the order Cycadales; having unbranched stems with a crown of fernlike leaves

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: New Latin Cycad-, Cycas, genus name, from Greek kykas, manuscript variant of koïkas, accusative plural of koïx, a kind of palm Date: 1845 any of an order (Cycadales) of dioecious cycadophytes that flourished especially during the Jurassic and are represented by four surviving families of palmlike tropical plants

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. Bot. any of the palmlike plants of the order Cycadales (including fossil forms) inhabiting tropical and subtropical regions and often growing to a great height. Etymology: mod.L cycas, cycad- f. supposed Gk kukas, scribal error for koikas, pl. of koix Egyptian palm

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cycad Cy"cad (s[imac]"k[a^]d), n. (Bot.) Any plant of the natural order Cycadace[ae], as the sago palm, etc.