Definition of "xenia" []

• The direct effect on a hybrid plant produced by the transfer of pollen from one strain to the endosperm of a different strain. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The strict duties between host and guest are governed by the Greek term ‘xenia’."
• "At the same 1906 conference on hybridization where the word “genetics” was first adopted, he presented a paper on xenia, the effect of pollen on seeds."
• "Aristotle classifies xenia as a friendship for utility and points out that such friends do not necessarily spend much time together or even find each other's company pleasant"