elytra

1 definition found

elytra - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Elytron \El"y*tron\ (?; 277), Elytrum \El"y*trum\ (-tr?m)n.; pl.
     Elytra. [NL., fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to roll round.] (Zo["o]l.)
     (a) One of the anterior pair of wings in the Coleoptera and
         some other insects, when they are thick and serve only as
         a protection for the posterior pair. See Coleoptera.
     (b) One of the shieldlike dorsal scales of certain annelids.
         See Ch[ae]topoda.
         [1913 Webster]