velum

American  

[vee-luhm] / ˈvi ləm /

noun

plural

vela, velum

1. Biology. any of various veillike or curtainlike membranous partitions.

2. Anatomy. the soft palate. palate1

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

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velum British  

/ ˈviːləm /

noun

1. 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

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

3. botany another word for veil

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Etymology

Origin of velum

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

Example Sentences

The polypide has normally about 60 tentacles, the velum at the base of which is narrow and by no means strongly festooned.

From Freshwater Sponges, Hydroids & Polyzoa by Annandale, Nelson

It bears the botanical name of Atropa, being so called from one of the classic Fates,—she who held the shears to cut the thread of human life:— "Clotho velum retinet, Lachesis net, et atropos occit."

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

In adolescents and adults, if the cleft is wide and the soft tissues of the palate are thin and atrophied, better physiological results may be obtained by the use of an artificial obturator or velum.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander

Head broad, surrounded by a funnel-shaped velum or hood; no radula; dorsal appendages foliaceous.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various

Under ordinary circumstances the horse breathes entirely by the nasal passages, the communication between the larynx and the mouth being closed by the velum palati.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 6 "Home, Daniel" to "Hortensius, Quintus" by Various