spermatheca

[spur-muh-thee-kuh]

sper·ma·the·ca

[spur-muh-thee-kuh]
noun, plural sper·ma·the·cae [-see] . Zoology.
a small sac or cavity in female or hermaphroditic invertebrates used to store sperm for fertilizing eggs, as in the queen bee.

Origin:
1820–30; sperma- (variant of spermato-, spermo-) + theca
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Spermatheca is always a great word to know.
So is fish. Does it mean:
cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates with gills, often have fins and elongated body covered with scales
phylum of radially symmetrical coelomate marine invertabrates
Collins
World English Dictionary
spermatheca (ˌspɜːməˈθiːkə)
 
n
a sac or cavity within the body of many female invertebrates, esp insects, used for storing spermatozoa before fertilization takes place
 
[C19: see sperm1, theca]
 
sperma'thecal
 
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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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
spermatheca   (spûr'mə-thē'kə)  Pronunciation Key 
Plural spermathecae (spûr'mə-thē'sē)
A receptacle in the reproductive tracts of certain female invertebrates, especially insects, in which spermatozoa are received and stored until needed to fertilize the ova.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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