Bot. [mod.L., irreg. f. Gr. λύκο-ς wolf + πέρδεσθαι to break wind: a rendering of the Eng. name wolfs fist (FIST sb.2).] The fungus Puff-ball, Lycoperdon Bovista.
1756. Gentl. Mag., XXVI. 430. The lycoperdon, or puff-ball.
1830. Lindley, Nat. Syst. Bot., 335. Gasteromyci comprehending Lycoperdons and the like.
b. attrib.: lycoperdon nut (see quot.).
1886. Treas. Bot., Lycoperdon nuts, the name under which the herbalists sell our common species of Elaphomyces.
Hence Lycoperdoid a., resembling fungi of the genus Lycoperdon.
1871. W. A. Leighton, Lichen-flora, 243. Verrucæ large, globular, lycoperdoid, eventually lacerato-dehiscent.