| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| tapetum |
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| SYLLABICATION: | ta·pe·tum |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  t -p  tm |
| NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. ta·pe·ta (-t)
1. Botany A nutritive tissue within the sporangium, particularly within an anther. 2. Anatomy a. A membranous layer or region, especially the iridescent membrane of the choroid of certain mammals. b. A layer of fibers of the corpus callosum forming the roof of part of the lateral ventricle of the brain. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Medieval Latin taptum, coverlet, from Latin tapte, *taptum, from Greek taps, tapt-. See tapestry. | | OTHER FORMS: | ta·petal (-ptl) —ADJECTIVE
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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