theca Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a case or sheath especially a pollen sac or moss capsule
    sac.
  2. noun outer sheath of the pupa of certain insects

WordNet

The"ca noun
Etymology
L., fr. Gr. a case to put anything in. See Tick a cover.
Wordforms
plural Thecæ
Definitions
  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. (Zoöl.) (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.

Webster 1913