Hypertext Webster Gateway: "elytron"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
elytron
n : either of the horny front wings in beetles and some other
insects which cover and protect the functional hind wings
[syn: {wing case}]
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