Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Anatomy A small anatomical opening, as in a bone.
  • noun An opening in a bone made by surgical fenestration.
  • noun Zoology A transparent spot or marking, as on the wing of a moth or butterfly.
  • noun Architecture A windowlike opening.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In surgery, an opening in a splint or immovable dressing to permit of inspection of the part or to relieve pressure.
  • noun In anatomy, a foramen; specifically; one of certain foramina of the inner ear. See phrases below.
  • noun In entom.: A transparent spot in an opaque surface, as in the wings of certain butterflies and moths
  • noun One of two perforations, covered with membrane, on the head of a cockroach, above the insertions of the antennæ. They have been regarded as rudimentary ocelli. See cut under Insecta.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Anat.) A small opening; esp., one of the apertures, closed by membranes, between the tympanum and internal ear.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun an opening in a body, sometimes with a membrane

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a small opening covered with membrane (especially one in the bone between the middle and inner ear)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin, window.]

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