Zā′mi-ă, n.

n. [N. Lat., from Lat. zamia, a kind of cone of firs, from Gr. ζαμία, ζημία, hurt, damage. See Plin. xvi. 44.] (Bot.) A genus of plants, possessing nearly equal affinities with palms and tree-ferns, and bearing heads of flowers like pine-cones.