integument
Americannoun
-
a natural covering, as a skin, shell, or rind.
- Synonyms:
- involucrum, involucre, cortex
-
any covering, coating, enclosure, etc.
noun
-
the protective layer around an ovule that becomes the seed coat
-
the outer protective layer or covering of an animal, such as skin or a cuticle
Usage
What does integument mean? An integument is a natural coating, like skin, a shell, or a rind. The word can refer generally to any coating or covering, but it is primarily used to refer to the outer layer of natural things, like animals and plants. In humans, integument is a technical word for the skin, especially in the context of anatomy and medicine. The adjective form of integument is integumentary, which is especially used in the term integumentary system to refer to the system of the human body that includes the skin and related things, like hair and nails. Example: The integuments of animals and plants are very different, but they often serve similar purposes.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of integument
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin integumentum “covering, shield, guard”; see in- 2, tegument
Explanation
An integument is an outer layer, like a human's skin or a walnut's shell. Use the noun integument when you need a scientific term for an organism's protective covering. Lizards' scales are their integument, and the germ or husk of a seed is its integument. Tissues and coverings inside animals, such as the protective membranes around organs, are another kind of integument. The Latin root is integumentum, "a covering," from integere, "to cover over."
Vocabulary lists containing integument
Walden
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The Body Eclectic: Words For Common Physical Functions
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The War of the Worlds
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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.
Similar to a hypodermic needle, a nematode uses its stylet to pierce cells and pull out food -- in this case from the pseudoscorpion's hypodermis, part of the outer covering known as the integument.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 6, 2024
Several other characteristics are distinctive to mammals, including certain features of the jaw, skeleton, integument, and internal anatomy.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
A double-layered integument protects the megasporangium and, later, the embryo sac.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
The mammalian integument includes various secretory glands, including sebaceous glands, eccrine glands, apocrine glands, and mammary glands.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
A singular modification is often undergone by the integument affected with erysipelas which has also been the seat of other cutaneous disorders.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
