lorica

American  

[luh-rahy-kuh, law-, loh-] / ləˈraɪ kə, lɔ-, loʊ- /

noun

loricae plural

1. Zoology. a hard protective case or sheath, as the protective coverings secreted by certain protists.

2. a cuirass or corselet, originally of leather.

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lorica British  

/ ˈlɒrɪˌkeɪt, lɒˈraɪkə /

noun

1. the hard outer covering of rotifers, ciliate protozoans, and similar organisms

2. an ancient Roman cuirass of leather or metal

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• loricate
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• loricae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lorica

1700–10; lorica ( def. 1 ) < New Latin, special use of Latin lōrīca corselet (originally of leather), akin to lōrum thong; lorica ( def. 2 ) < Latin

Example Sentences

Meos circa I umbos mica, O castitatis lorica, Aqua tincta seraphica; Patera gemmis corusca, Panis salsus, mollis esca, Divinum vinum, Francisca!

From The Poems and Prose Poems of Charles Baudelaire with an Introductory Preface by James Huneker by Baudelaire, Charles

Sometimes the mouth becomes twisted and the lorica is therefore bilateral.

From Marine Protozoa from Woods Hole Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 21:415-468, 1901 by Calkins, Gary N. (Gary Nathan)

Hymnus decantatus tibi jam viventi, Erit lorica protectionis populis; In die judicii te comitabuntur Hiberni ad supremum judicem.

From A Hymn on the Life, Virtues and Miracles of St. Patrick Composed by his Disciple, Saint Fiech, Bishop of Sletty by Fiech, Saint

In some cases the mouth opening is wide, giving the lorica a bell form; it may be long and tubular, short and spherical, or variously indented.

From Marine Protozoa from Woods Hole Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 21:415-468, 1901 by Calkins, Gary N. (Gary Nathan)

The tube of the Œcistes is called a "lorica," or carapace; but it has in truth no right whatever to the appellation.

From Marvels of Pond-life A Year's Microscopic Recreations by Slack, Henry J.