AESTIVATION - Definition

Pronunciation:		`esti'veyshun
WordNet Dictionary

	Definition:	[n] cessation from or slowing of activity during the summer; especially slowing of metabolism in some animals

	Synonyms:	estivation

	See Also:	dormancy, quiescence, quiescency

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

	Definition:	\[AE]s`ti*va"tion\, n. 1. (Zo["o]l.) The state of torpidity induced by the heat and dryness of summer, as in certain snails; -- opposed to {hibernation}. 2. (Bot.) The arrangement of the petals in a flower bud, as to folding, overlapping, etc.; prefloration. --Gray. [Spelt also {estivation}.]

Biology Dictionary

	Definition:	In zoology, a dormant state involving vastly lowered metabolism which certain animals enter in order to survive hot weather. In botany, refers to the arrangement of sepals and petals or their lobes in an unexpanded flower bud. Compare vernation.