ephippium

noun

ephip·​pi·​um

-pēəm

plural ephippia

-pēə

1

: sella turcica

2

: a saddlelike chitinous thickening over the brood pouch of various cladocerans that when shed forms a bivalve capsule containing the winter eggs

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek ephippion saddlecloth, saddle, from neuter of ephippios for putting on a horse, from epi- + hippios of a horse, from hippos horse

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