elytron Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun either of the horny front wings in beetles and some other insects which cover and protect the functional hind wings
    wing case.

WordNet

El"y*tron, El"y*trum noun (Also<
  • Elytron
  • Elytrum
)
Etymology
NL., fr. Gr. , fr. to roll round.
Wordforms
plural Elytra
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) (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 Chætopoda.

Webster 1913