OPERCULUM (opercula)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: opercula   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does operculum mean? 

• OPERCULUM (noun)
  The noun OPERCULUM has 1 sense:

1. a hard flap serving as a cover for (a) the gill slits in fishes or (b) the opening of the shell in certain gastropods when the body is retracted

  Familiarity information: OPERCULUM used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OPERCULUM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A hard flap serving as a cover for (a) the gill slits in fishes or (b) the opening of the shell in certain gastropods when the body is retracted

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("operculum" is a kind of...):

plate (any flat platelike body structure or part)

 Context examples 

A semicircular groove or fissure separating the insula from the opercula.

(Circular Sulcus, NCI Thesaurus)