integument

[in-teg-yuh-muhnt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR integument ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a natural covering, as a skin, shell, or rind.

any covering, coating, enclosure, etc.

Origin of integument

First recorded in 1605–15, integument is from the Latin word integumentum a covering. See in-², tegument

Synonyms for integument

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR integument ON THESAURUS.COM

1. cortex, involucre, involucrum.

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

Related Words for integument

coat, hide, pelt, envelope, skin, aril

Examples from the Web for integument

Historical Examples of integument

Its freedom from causing great shrinking or shrivelling of the integument.
Practical Taxidermy
Montagu Browne
Their integument is hardened with plates or particles of carbonate of lime.
The Elements of Geology
William Harmon Norton
Man alone, the last in the series, was created from the integument of a dog.
The Indian in his Wigwam
Henry R. Schoolcraft
The integument of the roof of the mouth was smooth and shining.
The Beaked Whales of the Family Ziphidae
Frederick True
Ex., the integument into which the valves of Chitones are inserted.
A Conchological Manual
George Brettingham Sowerby

British Dictionary definitions for integument

integument

noun

the protective layer around an ovule that becomes the seed coat

the outer protective layer or covering of an animal, such as skin or a cuticle

Derived Formsintegumental or integumentary, adjective

Word Origin for integument

C17: from Latin integumentum, from tegere to cover

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 integument

1610s, from Latin integumentum "a covering," from integere "to cover over," from in- "in, upon" (see in- (2)) + tegere "to cover" (see stegosaurus).

integument in Medicine

integument

[ĭn-tĕg′yu-mənt]

n.

The enveloping membrane of the body, including the dermis, epidermis, hair, nails, and sebaceous, sweat, and mammary glands.

The membrane, capsule, skin, or other covering of a body or a part.

Related formsin•teg′u•men′ta•ry (-mĕn′tə-rē, -mĕn′trē) adj.

integument in Science

integument

[ĭn-tĕg′yu-mənt]

A natural outer covering of an animal or plant or of one of its parts, such as skin, a shell, or the part of a plant ovule that develops into a seed coat.