scutellum

  

scu·tel·lum

[skyoo-tel-uhm]
noun, plural scu·tel·la [-tel-uh] .
1.
Botany. the shieldlike cotyledon of certain monocots.
2.
Zoology. a small plate, scutum, or other shieldlike part, as on the thorax of insects or the feet of birds.
Origin:
1750–60; < Neo-Latin, equivalent to Latin scūt(um) shield (see scute) + -ellum diminutive suffix

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
scutellum (skjuːˈtɛləm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n , pl -la
1.  the last of three plates into which the notum of an insect's thorax is divided
2.  one of the scales on the tarsus of a bird's leg
3.  an outgrowth from a germinating grass seed that probably represents the cotyledon
4.  any other small shield-shaped part or structure
 
[C18: from New Latin: a little shield, from Latin scūtum a shield]
 
scu'tellar
 
—adj
 
scutellate
 
—adj

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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00:10
Scutellum is always a great word to know.
So is sporophyte generation. Does it mean:
organism capable of self-nourishment which uses photosynthesis or chemosynthesis for energy
phase in plant life which starts with a zygote produced by sexual reproduction
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
scutellum   (sky-těl'əm)  Pronunciation Key 
Plural scutella

  1. A shieldlike bony plate or scale, as on the thorax of some insects.

  2. The large, shield-shaped cotyledon of the embryo of a grass plant, specialized for the absorption of food from the endosperm.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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scutellate
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