apotropous,a.Bot.|əˈpɒtrəpəs| [f.Gr. ἀπότροπος turned away (f. ἀποτρέπειν to turn away) + -ous.] (See quot.) 1880Gray Bot.Text-bk. 397 Apotropous, Applied to an erect or ascending ovule with its rhaphe next to the placental axis, and a hanging one has its rhaphe averse from it.