Dissilition

/dɪsɪˈlɪʃən/ noun

Definition

The act or process of bursting or leaping apart; a sudden separation or breaking open.

Etymology

From Latin dissilitio, formed from dissalire (dis- + salire) with the -tion suffix. The suffix -tion converts the verb action into a noun describing the process. This technical term emerged from botanical and physical descriptions of explosive separation.

Kelly Says

The word perfectly describes the seed-scattering mechanism that evolved in plants—some seeds literally catapult themselves through dissilition, which is why you might see seeds fly several feet away from a plant pod in late summer.

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