lytta

[ lit-uh ]

/ ˈlɪt ə /

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noun, plural lyt·tas, lyt·tae

[lit-ee]. /ˈlɪt i/.

a long, worm-shaped cartilage in the tongue of the dog and other carnivorous animals.

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Origin of lytta

1595–1605; <New Latin <Greek lýtta,Attic form of lýssa rage, rabies; so named because the cartilage was thought to be a parasite causing rabies

Words nearby lytta

Lysychansk, -lyte, Lytham Saint Anne's, lythraceous, lytic, lytta, Lyttelton, Lytton, Lyubertsy, Lyublin, -lyze

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lytta in a sentence

We come now to the tribe of blistering beetles, of which the best known is the Cantharides (Cantharis or Lytta).
The Insect World|Louis Figuier
Unwormed, un-wurmd′, adj. not wormed, not having had the worm or lytta under the tongue cut out—of a dog.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
Species of Lytta abound, but no use is made of them, the Shoans having no real medicine prepared from the animal kingdom.
The Highlands of Ethiopia|William Cornwallis Harris
When the lytta, alias blister beetle, arrives, prepare to give a warm welcome to him and all of his kind.
The Mayflower, January, 1905|Various

British Dictionary definitions for lytta

lytta

/ (ˈlɪtə) /

noun plural -tas or -tae (-tiː)

a rodlike mass of cartilage beneath the tongue in the dog and other carnivores

Word Origin for lytta

C17: New Latin, from Greek lussa madness; in dogs, it was believed to be a cause of rabies

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