Hypertext Webster Gateway: "theca"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Theca \The"ca\, n.; pl. {Thec[ae]}. [L., fr. Gr. ? a case to put
anything in. See {Tick} a cover.]
1. A sheath; a case; as, the theca, or cell, of an anther;
the theca, or spore case, of a fungus; the theca of the
spinal cord.
2. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) The chitinous cup which protects the hydranths of
certain hydroids.
(b) The more or less cuplike calicle of a coral.
(c) The wall forming a calicle of a coral.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
theca
n 1: a case or sheath especially a pollen sac or moss capsule
[syn: {sac}]
2: outer sheath of the pupa of certain insects
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