El″y‐tron (?; 277), El″y‐trum (–tr�m) n.; pl.Elytra (#). [NL., fr. Gr. ἔλυτρον, fr. ελὔειν to roll round.] (Zoöl.) (a) One of the anterior pair of wings in the Coleoptera and some other insects, when they are thick and serve only as a protection for the posterior pair. See Coleoptera. (b) One of the shieldlike dorsal scales of certain annelids. See Chætopoda.
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Webster's Dictionary 1913
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, C. & G. Merriam Co., 1913.