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scutellum

American  
[skyoo-tel-uhm] / skjuˈtɛl əm /

noun

  • scutella
    plural
  1. Botany. the shieldlike cotyledon of certain monocots.

  2. Zoology. a small plate, scutum, or other shieldlike part, as on the thorax of insects or the feet of birds.


scutellum British  
/ skjuːˈtɛləm, ˈskjuːtɪˌleɪt, -lɪt /

noun

  1. the last of three plates into which the notum of an insect's thorax is divided

  2. one of the scales on the tarsus of a bird's leg

  3. an outgrowth from a germinating grass seed that probably represents the cotyledon

  4. any other small shield-shaped part or structure

"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

scutellum Scientific  
/ skyo̅o̅-tĕləm /
  • scutella
    plural
  1. A shieldlike bony plate or scale, as on the thorax of some insects.

  2. The large, shield-shaped cotyledon of the embryo of a grass plant, specialized for the absorption of food from the endosperm.


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of scutellum

1750–60; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin scūt ( um ) shield ( see scute) + -ellum diminutive suffix

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.

See Examples For:

Found globally, these insects are named for their outsized scutellum, from the Latin word scutum, meaning shield.

From National Geographic Jun. 23, 2018

Upon the side of the embryo next the endosperm and enveloping it is a large shield-shaped body, termed the scutellum.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various

The scutellum is considered to represent the first leaf or cotyledon.

From A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses by K. Rangachari

In some grasses, as oats and rice, a projection of cellular tissue is seen upon the side of the embryo opposite to the scutellum, that is, on the anterior side.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various

Post-alar membrane: the strip of membrane connecting the squamae with the scutellum.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by John. B. Smith

Each kind gets its name from the Latin scutella, "a little cap," which the calyx resembles, and is therefore called Hood Wort, or Helmet flower.

From Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by William Thomas Fernie

It follows the scutum, and is followed by the small postscutellum; a scutella.

From The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary Section S by Project Gutenberg

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