velum

[ vee-luhm ]

/ ˈvi ləm /

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See synonyms for velum on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural ve·la

[vee-luh], /ˈvi lə/, for 1, 2, ve·lum for 3.

Biology. any of various veillike or curtainlike membranous partitions.

Anatomy. the soft palate.See under palate (def. 1).

Meteorology. a thin cloud, large in horizontal area, that is draped over or penetrated by cumuliform clouds.

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Origin of velum

First recorded in 1765–75, velum is from the Latin word vēlum sail, covering

Words nearby velum

velour, velouté, Velox, Velsen, veltheimia, velum, velure, velutinous, velvet, velvet ant, velvet bean

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

How to use velum in a sentence

After a little while try to move the velum, closing and opening the nose passage, without uttering a sound and without breathing.
The Sounds of Spoken English|Walter Rippmann
Still watching your mouth, inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth; see how the velum moves as you do this.
The Sounds of Spoken English|Walter Rippmann
Also called velar (from velum, for which see § 8) and more usually, but less accurately, guttural.
The Sounds of Spoken English|Walter Rippmann
Bok also signifies acupictile, vel acupictum (velum, auloeum).
The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson|Saemund Sigfusson and Snorre Sturleson

Foot divided into two, posterior half bearing the operculum; a wide epipodial velum; shell turbinated.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5|Various

British Dictionary definitions for velum

velum

/ (ˈviːləm) /

noun plural -la (-lə)

zoology any of various membranous structures, such as the ciliated oral membrane of certain mollusc larvae or the veil-like membrane running around the rim of a jellyfish

anatomy any of various veil-like bodily structures, esp the soft palate

botany another word for veil (def. 6)

Word Origin for velum

C18: from Latin: veil

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

velum

Origin of velum

Words nearby velum

Words related to velum

How to use velum in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for velum

Word Origin for velum