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/kap"seuhl, -soohl, -syoohl/, n., v., capsuled, capsuling, adj.n.1. Pharm. a gelatinous case enclosing a dose of medicine.2. Biol.a. a membranous sac or integument.b. either of two strata of white matter in the cerebrum.c. the sporangium of various spore-producing organisms, as ferns, mosses, algae, and fungi.3. Bot. a dry dehiscent fruit, composed of two or more carpels.4. a small case, envelope, or covering.5. Also called space capsule. Aerospace. a sealed cabin, container, or vehicle in which a person or animal can ride in flight in space or at very high altitudes within the earth's atmosphere.6. Aviation. a similar cabin in a military aircraft, which can be ejected from the aircraft in an emergency.7. a thin metal covering for the mouth of a corked bottle.8. a concise report; brief outline: An appendix to the book contains biographical capsules of the contributors.v.t.9. to furnish with or enclose in or as if in a capsule; encapsulate.10. to capsulize.adj.11. small and compact.12. short and concise; brief and summarized: a capsule report.
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In botany, a dry fruit that opens when ripe.It splits from top to bottom into separate segments known as valves, as in the iris, or forms pores at the top (e.g., poppy), or splits around the circumference, with the top falling off (e.g., pigweed and plantain). The spore-forming organ (see sporophyte) of liverworts and mosses is also called a capsule.* * *
▪ plantin botany, dry fruit that opens when ripe. It splits from apex to base into separate segments known as valves, as in the iris, or forms pores at the top (poppy), or splits around the circumference, with the top falling off (pigweed and plantain). The spore-forming organ of liverworts and mosses also is called a capsule.* * *
Universalium. 2010.