operculum
UK /əʊˈpɜː.kjʊ.ləm/ · US /oʊˈpɝ.kjə.ləm/ noun
Forms opercula
- noun (zoology) A covering flap in animals and insects, such as a gill cover or the lid of nits.
- noun (botany) The lidlike portion of a moss sporangium or of a fruit that detaches to allow the dispersal of spores or seeds.
- noun (dentistry) A gum flap covering (part of) a partially erupted tooth, usually a wisdom tooth.
- noun A structure which serves as a cover or lid.
- noun (anatomy) One of several flaps of cerebral cortex covering the insula.
Etymology
L., a cover or lid, fr. operire to cover.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “operculum”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details