mentum

[men-tuhm]

noun

plural

menta 

1. Entomology.,  the medial plate of the labium in insects.

2. Botany.,  a chinlike protuberance formed by the sepals and the base of the column in some orchids.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mentum¹

1685–95; < New Latin, Latin mentum chin, akin to mouth

Example Sentences

The remarkable tripartite mentum he thinks should not be compared with the bipartite mentum of Leptinus, and calls attention to the fact that in Ancistrona in Mallophaga it is also trilobed.

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Pr�mentum smaller than the hypopharynx, in outline roughly oval or semicircular with the two labial palpi surrounded by hairs at the base.

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Summit of spire heterostrophic; a projection, the mentum, between head and foot; operculum present.

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Mental suture: in Coleoptera, the line between mentum and gula.

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The mentum carries at its extremity a pair of lobes with sharp fangs.

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