The Collaborative International Dictionary
Operculum \O*per"cu*lum\, n.; pl. L. Opercula, E. Operculums. [L., a cover or lid, fr. operire to cover.]
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(Bot.)
The lid of a pitcherform leaf.
The lid of the urnlike capsule of mosses.
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(Anat.)
Any lidlike or operculiform process or part; as, the opercula of a dental follicle.
The fold of integument, usually supported by bony plates, which protects the gills of most fishes and some amphibians; the gill cover; the gill lid.
The principal opercular bone in the upper and posterior part of the gill cover.
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(Zo["o]l.)
The lid closing the aperture of various species of shells, as the common whelk. See Illust. of Gastropoda.
Any lid-shaped structure closing the aperture of a tube or shell.