pollen

Meanings

Noun

• A fine granular substance produced in flowers. Technically a collective term for pollen grains (microspores) produced in the anthers of flowering plants. (This specific usage dating from mid 18th century.)
• Fine powder in general, fine flour. (16th-century usage documented by the OED.)

Verb

• To cover with, or as if with, pollen.

Origin

• From Latin pollen ("fine flour"). Used by Linnaeus in the 18th century to describe the spores produced in the anthers of flowers.