catkin

noun

Etymology: From Middle Dutch katteken (“catkin”, literally “little cat”). So named due to the resemblance of lengthier kinds to a kitten's tail, or, perhaps more probably, the fine fur found on some catkins (compare the pictures). Cognate with German Kätzchen, modern Dutch katje; compare French chaton (“kitten”; “catkin”). By surface analysis, cat + -kin.

1. A type of inflorescence, consisting of an axis with many unisexual apetalous flowers along its sides, as in the willow and poplar.