scutellum

American  

[skyoo-tel-uhm] / skyuˈtɛl əm /

noun

plural

scutella

1. Botany. the shieldlike cotyledon of certain monocots.

2. Zoology. a small plate, scutum, or other shieldlike part, as on the thorax of insects or the feet of birds.

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scutellum British  

/ skjuːˈtɛləm, ˈskjuːtɪˌleɪt, -lɪt /

noun

1. the last of three plates into which the notum of an insect's thorax is divided

2. one of the scales on the tarsus of a bird's leg

3. an outgrowth from a germinating grass seed that probably represents the cotyledon

4. any other small shield-shaped part or structure

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scutellum Scientific  

/ skyo̅o̅-tĕl′əm /

plural

scutella

1. A shieldlike bony plate or scale, as on the thorax of some insects.

2. The large, shield-shaped cotyledon of the embryo of a grass plant, specialized for the absorption of food from the endosperm.

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Other Word Forms

• scutellar
  adjective
• scutellate
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of scutellum

1750–60; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin scūt ( um ) shield ( see scute) + -ellum diminutive suffix