The female reproductive part of a flower that produces ovules and seeds, made up of one or more carpels fused together.
From Greek 'gynaikeia' (women's quarters) via Latin botanical terminology; Linnaeus used this term in the 1700s to describe flower parts, naming them after human body structures.
In ancient Greek homes, the 'gynaeceum' was the private women's quarters—scientists thought the female flower part was equally private and hidden, so they borrowed the same word to describe an internal flower organ.
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