ephippium

American  

[ih-fip-ee-uhm] / ɪˈfɪp i əm /

noun

Zoology.

plural

ephippia

1. a thick shell, consisting of two chitinous plates, that encloses and protects the winter eggs of a cladoceran.

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Other Word Forms

• ephippial adjective

Etymology

Origin of ephippium

1835–45; < New Latin < Greek ephíppion, noun use of neuter of ephíppios for putting on a horse, equivalent to ep- ep- + hípp ( os ) horse + -ios adj. suffix

Example Sentences

The latter in the Daphniidae are enclosed in a modified part of the mother’s shell, called the ephippium from its resemblance to a saddle in shape and position.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6 "English Language" to "Epsom Salts" by Various