noun, plural o·per·cu·la [oh-pur-kyuh-luh] /oʊˈpɜr kyə lə/, o·per·cu·lums.
- Botany, Zoology. a part or organ serving as a lid or cover, as a covering flap on a seed vessel.
- Zoology.
- the gill cover of fishes and amphibians.
- (in many gastropods) a horny plate that closes the opening of the shell when the animal is retracted.
noun plural -la (-lə) or -lums
- zoology
- the hard bony flap covering the gill slits in fishes
- the bony plate in certain gastropods covering the opening of the shell when the body is withdrawn
- botany the covering of the spore-bearing capsule of a moss
- biology any other covering or lid in various organisms
n.1713, from Latin operculum “cover, lid,” from operire “to cover, close” (see weir), with instrumental suffix *-tlom. Related: Opercular. n. pl. o•per•cu•lums
- Something resembling a lid or cover.
- The portions of the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes covering the insula.
- The mucus sealing the endocervical canal of the uterus after conception.
- The attached flap in cases of torn retinal detachment.
- The mucosal flap partially or completely covering an unerupted tooth.
Plural opercula operculums
- A lid or flap covering an opening, such as the gill cover in some fish or the horny flap covering the opening of a snail.