velum
Americannoun
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vela,
plural
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velum
plural
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Biology. any of various veillike or curtainlike membranous partitions.
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Anatomy. the soft palate. palate1
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Meteorology. a thin cloud, large in horizontal area, that is draped over or penetrated by cumuliform clouds.
noun
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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
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anatomy any of various veil-like bodily structures, esp the soft palate
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botany another word for veil
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of velum
First recorded in 1765–75, velum is from the Latin word vēlum sail, covering
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:
Others derive the name from velum, a sail; because the exhibitors of public shows used to hang the road that leads from the forum to the Circus Maximus with sails, beginning at this spot.
From Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans by Arthur Hugh Clough
The velum interpositum is an expanded fold of pia mater, which passes into the anterior of the hemispheres through the great transverse fissure.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 "Bradford, William" to "Brequigny, Louis" by Various
The position of this mouth is at the velum.
From Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
The larva for a time swims freely in the sea-water, having a circlet of cilia round the body in front of the mouth, forming the velum.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 6 "Cockaigne" to "Columbus, Christopher" by Various
The inferior medullary velum, a reflection of the pia mater and epithelium from the back of the medulla to the inferior vermis, closes it in below.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 "Bradford, William" to "Brequigny, Louis" by Various
She sat patiently as ardent beauticians prepared her for her formal investiture, a highlight of the three-day festival — or vela — that celebrates muxe culture here every November.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2024
“I could never dress like this in Veracruz, where I live now,” said Ximena Ximénez, 27, who returned to Juchitán for the vela and wore a black, gold and white garment with a matching headpiece.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2024
This weekend's festival is called the "True Fearless Seekers of Danger" vela, a name that harkens to the risk many members of the community face.
From Reuters ● Nov. 19, 2023
For it is the vela discovered, denounced, and made over to them by Pedro Vicente.
From The Lost Mountain A Tale of Sonora by Mayne Reid
Many Latin neuter plurals were adopted into French as feminine singulars, e.g., cornua, corne, horn; labra, lèvre, lip; vela, voile, sail.
From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Ernest Weekley
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