Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Elytrum
El′y-tron
(?; 277)
, El′y-trum
(-tr[GREEK]m)
Noun.
pl.
Elytra
(#)
. [NL., fr. Gr.
ἔλυτρον
, fr. ἐλύειν
to roll round.] (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
.