velum
[vee-luh m]
- Biology. any of various veillike or curtainlike membranous partitions.
- Anatomy. the soft palate.See under palate(def 1).
- Meteorology. a thin cloud, large in horizontal area, that is draped over or penetrated by cumuliform clouds.
Origin of velum
First recorded in 1765–75, velum is from the Latin word vēlum sail, covering
Vela
[vee-luh, vey-]
- the Sail, a southern constellation: one of the subordinate constellations into which Argo is divided.
- U.S. Aerospace. one of a series of reconnaissance satellites designed to detect nuclear explosions.
Origin of Vela
< Latin, plural of vēlum sail
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Vela
- a constellation in the S hemisphere, close to Puppis and Carina and crossed by the Milky Way, that has four second-magnitude stars and a young bright pulsar
velum
- zoology any of various membranous structures, such as the ciliated oral membrane of certain mollusc larvae or the veil-like membrane running around the rim of a jellyfish
- anatomy any of various veil-like bodily structures, esp the soft palate
- botany another word for veil (def. 6)
Word Origin
C18: from Latin: veil
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for vela's
velum
n.
1771, from Latin velum "a sail, awning, curtain, covering" (see veil (n.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
velum
(vē′ləm)
- An anatomical structure resembling a veil or curtain.veil velamen
- greater omentum
- A serous membrane or membranous envelope or covering.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.