n. (Bot.) Any plant of the natural order Cycadaceæ, as the sago palm, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a natural family of ancient palmlike plants closely related to ferns in that fertilization is by means of spermatozoids.
Syn. -- family Cycadaceae, cycad family. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. (Bot.) Pertaining to, or resembling, an order of plants like the palms, but having exogenous wood. The sago palm is an example. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. an order of primitive tropical gymnosperms abundant in the Mesozoic, now reduced to a few scattered tropical forms.
Syn. -- order Cycadales. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. an order of fossil gymnospermous trees or climbing plants from the Devonian: seed ferns.
Syn. -- order Cycadofilicales, Lyginopteridales, order Lyginopteridales. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a class or subdivision of plants comprising palmlike gymnosperms: it includes the surviving order Cycadales and several extinct orders; possibly not a natural group; in some systems considered a class (Cycadopsida) and in others a subdivision (Cycadophytina or Cycadophyta).
Syn. -- class Cycadopsida, subdivision Cycadophytina, subdivision Cycadophyta. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Of uncertain origin. Linnæus derives it from one of the “obscure Greek words.” ] (Bot.) A genus of trees, intermediate in character between the palms and the pines. The pith of the trunk of some species furnishes a valuable kind of sago. [ 1913 Webster ]