carapace

[kar-uh-peys]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR carapace ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a bony or chitinous shield, test, or shell covering some or all of the dorsal part of an animal, as of a turtle.

Nearby words

Origin of carapace

1830–40; < French < Spanish carapacho, of obscure origin

Related formscar·a·paced, adjectivecar·a·pa·cial

[kar-uh-pey-shuh l] /ˌkær əˈpeɪ ʃəl/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for carapace

I walked back to my desk, keeping the satisfaction locked tight within a carapace of steely unconcern, and took in the scene.
Wall Street Bonuses Tumble, But Bankers Have Nowhere to Go|Aaron Timms|March 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It encases their loserdom in a carapace of purity and righteousness.
The GOP’s Leading Crank|Michael Tomasky|August 30, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Ian McEwan: Well, I think one way… I think you have to develop a carapace of boringness.
Hanging Out with Ian McEwan: Full Transcript|The Daily Beast Video|April 14, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Greater awareness of that would soften their carapace of greed.
How Bankers Screwed Up Their PR|Adam Hanft|February 7, 2009|DAILY BEAST

The carapace is dark tan having small whitish dots intermixed with a few indistinct, small, blackish specks posteriorly.
North American Recent Soft-shelled Turtles (Family Trionychidae)|Robert G. Webb
The plastron is attached to the carapace by ligamentous tissue.
Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz|John M. Legler
The plastron is joined to the carapace by the sutures of the bridge.
Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz|John M. Legler
The margins of the carapace and abdomen are fringed with fine hairs, as are also most of the joints of the limbs.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide|Augusta Foote Arnold
The carapace is very broad and flat; the toes united up to the claws by broad flexible membranes.
Reptiles and Birds|Louis Figuier

British Dictionary definitions for carapace

carapace

noun

the thick hard shield, made of chitin or bone, that covers part of the body of crabs, lobsters, tortoises, etc

Word Origin for carapace

C19: from French, from Spanish carapacho, of unknown origin

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 carapace

carapace

1836, from French carapace "tortoise shell" (18c.), from Spanish carapacho or Portuguese carapaça, of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow from Latin capa (see cape (n.1)).

Science definitions for carapace