elytron
/ˈɛlɪtɹɒn/
elytron noun: a sheath or outer covering, especially around the spinal cord or over the hindwings of certain insects.
Noun
elytron (plural elytra)
- A sheath or outer covering, especially around the spinal cord or over the hindwings of certain insects.
- In a corner, the Darkling Beetle rustles in its Cage, its Elytra the same unforgiving white as the great sand-waste call’d ‘Kalahari’ lying north of here […]1997, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 9, in Mason & Dixon, 1st US edition, New York: Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN, part One: Latitudes and Departures, page 88
- […] the elytra covering the hind wings of the firefly lift like a light leather, suppler than any other beetle’s.2020, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments, Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, →ISBN, page 9
- Synonyms:
- wingcase
Synonyms of elytron
Forms of elytron
| plural | elytra |
|---|
Origin of elytron
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἔλυτρον (élutron, “sheath”).
Words formed from elytron
Questions about elytron
- What does elytron mean?
- Elytron means a sheath or outer covering, especially around the spinal cord or over the hindwings of certain insects.
- What part of speech is elytron?
- Elytron is a noun.
- How do you pronounce elytron?
- Elytron is pronounced /ˈɛlɪtɹɒn/.
- What is the plural of elytron?
- The plural of elytron is elytra.
Words near elytron in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: elytron (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-elytron.wav.
Cite this entry: “elytron.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/elytron. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.