Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PE-RIG'Y-NOUS, a. [Gr. περι, about, and γυνη, female.]

Growing upon some body that surrounds the ovarium. Botanists are in the habit of saying that the stamens are inserted into the calyx or corolla, i. e. are perigynous, though they always originate from the space between the base of the petals and the base of the ovary. – Lindley.