labium
Americannoun
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a lip or liplike part.
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Anatomy.
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a lip or lip-shaped structure or part.
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any of the folds of skin bordering the vulva.
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Botany. the lower lip of a bilabiate corolla.
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Entomology. the posterior, unpaired member of the mouthparts of an insect, formed by the united second maxillae.
noun
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a lip or liplike structure
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any one of the four lip-shaped folds of the female vulva See labia majora labia minora
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the fused pair of appendages forming the lower lip of insects
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the lower lip of the corolla of labiate flowers
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of labium
1590–1600; < Latin: lip, akin to lambere to lick, lap 3. See labrum 1, lip
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Thus massed into a single awl-like beak, the mosquito, without any apparent effort, thrusts them all except the labium into the flesh.
From Our Common Insects A Popular Account of the Insects of Our Fields, Forests, Gardens and Houses by Packard, A. S. (Alpheus Spring)
Lying in this groove along the upper side of the labium are six very fine, sharp-pointed needles.
From Insects and Diseases A Popular Account of the Way in Which Insects may Spread or Cause some of our Common Diseases by Doane, Rennie Wilbur
Mouth parts of grasshopper shown in relative position; lbr., labrum; md., mandibles; hyp., hypopharynx; max., maxillae; lab., labium.
From An Elementary Study of Insects by Haseman, Leonard
The hypopharynx is united to the labium, the mandibles are wanting and the maxillæ are very much reduced so that the insect is unable to pierce the tough skin of animals.
From Insects and Diseases A Popular Account of the Way in Which Insects may Spread or Cause some of our Common Diseases by Doane, Rennie Wilbur
Elinguata: without a tongue: forms in which the maxillae are connate with the labium: see synista.
From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
