tegmen

See also: teğmen
Schematic image of the tegmen as it appears in a section through a pea, just within the testa
At rest the tegmen of this grasshopper covers the folded flight wings, which in fact are highly coloured and need camouflage
In flight the tegmina are not much used; they are held away, exposing the coloured flight wings in a sophisticated misdirection tactic.

English

Noun

tegmen (plural tegmina)

  1. (biology) A covering or integument, usually referring to a thin layer or membrane in an organism
  2. (botany) An integument such as the inner membrane of the coat of a seed
  3. (anatomy) A covering such as the thin layer of bone in the roof of the middle ear of mammals.
  4. (entomology) In insects such as winged cockroaches and locusts, the tegmina are the stiff, membranous fore wings; in many species they are not primarily used for flight, but serve as protective covering for the delicate hind wings, which are the main organs of flight. Note that the more heavily armoured fore-wings of most beetles are called elytra, not tegmina.

Latin

Etymology

From tegō (“I cover”) +‎ -men (noun-forming suffix).

Pronunciation
  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈteɡ.men/, [ˈtɛɡ.mɛn]

Noun

tegmen n (genitive tegminis); third declension

  1. Alternative form of tegimen

Inflection

Third declension neuter.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative tegmen tegmina
Genitive tegminis tegminum
Dative tegminī tegminibus
Accusative tegmen tegmina
Ablative tegmine tegminibus
Vocative tegmen tegmina

References
  • tegmen in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • tegmen in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
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