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Webster 1913 Edition

[L.

caducus

falling, inclined to fall, fr.

cadere

to fall. See

(Bot. & Zool.)

Dropping off or disappearing early, as the calyx of a poppy, or the gills of a tadpole.

Adj.

In botany, falling early; as caducous leaves, which fall before the end of summer. A caducous calyx falls before the corol is well unfolded.