Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having awns: Describes a plant, particularly a cereal or grass, that possesses awns. An awn is a stiff, bristle-like or hair-like appendage, typically found on the florets or seeds of certain plants.

Usage Notes

• The word awny is a specialized botanical term. It is primarily used in scientific, agricultural, or horticultural contexts to describe the physical characteristics of grasses and cereal crops.
• It is an adjective and is used directly before a noun (e.g., ) or after a linking verb (e.g., ).

Examples

• Adjective:
  • The botanist collected samples of the awny barley for her study.
  • This variety of wheatgrass is distinctly awny, which helps in seed dispersal.
  • Compared to the smooth-seeded variety, the awny oats have a rougher texture.

Advanced Usage

• Comparative and Superlative Forms: While rarely used in everyday language, the standard forms are and .
  • Among the specimens, this grass is the awniest.

Variants and Related Words

• Awn (noun): The stiff, bristle-like appendage itself.
  • The long awns on the wheat can irritate the skin.
• Awned (adjective): A synonym for awny, meaning furnished with awns.
  • The awned lemma of the grass is a key identifying feature.
• Awnless (adjective): The opposite, meaning without awns.
  • Farmers sometimes prefer awnless varieties to facilitate harvesting.

Synonyms

• Aristate: (Botanical) Bearing awns or awn-like bristles.
• Bristled: Having bristles; can be used in a similar descriptive sense, though less specific to botany.

Antonyms

• Awnless: Lacking awns.

Adjective

1. having awns i.e. bristlelike or hairlike appendages on the flowering parts of some cereals and grasses
   • awned wheatgrass