operculum

[ oh-pur-kyuh-luhm ]

/ oʊˈpɜr kyə ləm /

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noun, plural o·per·cu·la

[oh-pur-kyuh-luh], /oʊˈpɜr kyə lə/, o·per·cu·lums.

Botany, Zoology. a part or organ serving as a lid or cover, as a covering flap on a seed vessel.

Zoology.

the gill cover of fishes and amphibians.
(in many gastropods) a horny plate that closes the opening of the shell when the animal is retracted.

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Origin of operculum

1705–15; <New Latin, Latin: lid, cover, equivalent to oper(īre) to cover + -culum-cule²

OTHER WORDS FROM operculum

o·per·cu·lar, adjective

Words nearby operculum

operator, operatory, opera window, opercle, operculate, operculum, opere citato, operetta, operon, operose, opgefok

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

How to use operculum in a sentence

Operculum semi-lunar, orange, with a projection which serves as a lock to keep the operculum in position.
Our British Snails|John William Horsley
Operculum made of plates rising one above another formed at different stages of growth.
Our British Snails|John William Horsley
The operculum, like the shell itself, often exhibits distinct lines of growth which display the manner in which it was built up.
The Sea Shore|William S. Furneaux
These fishes generally have an air-bladder, and the gills lie close together in a cavity covered by an operculum.
The Sea Shore|William S. Furneaux

These are the bones connected with respiration—the operculum, the branchiostegal rays, the branchial arches, and others.
Form and Function|E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell

British Dictionary definitions for operculum

operculum

/ (əʊˈpɜːkjʊləm) /

noun plural -la (-lə) or -lums

zoology

the hard bony flap covering the gill slits in fishes
the bony plate in certain gastropods covering the opening of the shell when the body is withdrawn

botany the covering of the spore-bearing capsule of a moss

biology any other covering or lid in various organisms

Derived forms of operculum

opercular or operculate (əʊˈpɜːkjʊlɪt, -ˌleɪt), adjective

Word Origin for operculum

C18: via New Latin from Latin: lid, from operīre 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

Scientific definitions for operculum

operculum

[ ō-pûr′kyə-ləm ]

Plural opercula operculums

A lid or flap covering an opening, such as the gill cover in some fish or the horny flap covering the opening of a snail.