- calyx
- 1680s, from L. calyx, from Gk. kalyx "seed pod, husk, outer covering" (of a fruit, flower bud, etc.), from root of kalyptein "to cover, conceal" (see cell). The proper plural is calyces. Some sources connect the word rather with Gk. kylix "drinking cup."
- sepal
- "leaf of the calyx," 1821, from Fr. sépal, from Mod.L. sepalum (H.J. de Necker, 1790), coined from L. separatus "separate" + petalum "petal."
- baluster
- "support for a railing," c.1600, from Fr. balustre, from It. balaustro "pillar," from balausta "flower of the wild pomegranate," from Gk. balaustion (perhaps of Sem. origin, cf. Aram. balatz "flower of the wild pomegranate"). Staircase uprights had lyre-like double curves, like the calyx tube of the pomegranate flower.