nictitating membrane

nictitating membrane

noun
a thin membrane, or inner or third eyelid, present in many animals, capable of being drawn across the eyeball, as for protection.

Origin:
1705–15; nictate + -ing2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Nictitating_membrane is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Collins
World English Dictionary
nictitating membrane (ˈnɪktɪˌteɪtɪŋ)
 
n
third eyelid, Also called: haw (in reptiles, birds, and some mammals) a thin fold of skin beneath the eyelid that can be drawn across the eye

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
nictitating membrane   (nĭk'tĭ-tā'tĭng)  Pronunciation Key 
A transparent inner eyelid in birds, reptiles, amphibians, and some mammals that protects and moistens the eye without blocking vision.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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