Definitions

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

  • noun The protective, often hard outer coat of a seed.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In zoology, a test.
  • noun In botany, the outer integument or coat of a seed: it is usually hard and brittle, whence the name, which answers to seed-shell. See seed, 1. Also test, spermoderm, and episperm.
  • noun [capitalized] A name of the star Vega.

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

  • noun seed coat
  • noun marine biology The external calciferous shell, or endoskeleton, of an echinoderm; the test.

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

  • noun protective outer layer of seeds of flowering plants

Etymologies

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

[Latin, shell.]

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Examples

  • For instance, the Latin word testa once meant a pot, and became slang for "head," something like the word "noggin" in English.

    The Daily News - News 2010

  • For instance, the Latin word testa once meant a pot, and became slang for "head," something like the word "noggin" in English.

    The Daily News - News 2010

  • For instance, the Latin word testa once meant a pot, and became slang for "head," something like the word "noggin" in English.

    The Daily News - News 2010

  • For instance, the Latin word testa once meant a pot, and became slang for "head," something like the word "noggin" in English.

    The Daily News - News 2010

  • For instance, the Latin word testa once meant a pot, and became slang for "head," something like the word "noggin" in English.

    The Daily News - News 2010

  • For instance, the Latin word testa once meant a pot, and became slang for "head," something like the word "noggin" in English.

    The Daily News - News 2010

  • For instance, the Latin word testa once meant a pot, and became slang for "head," something like the word "noggin" in English.

    The Daily News - News 2010

  • For instance, the Latin word testa once meant a pot, and became slang for "head," something like the word "noggin" in English.

    The Daily News - News 2010

  • For instance, the Latin word testa once meant a pot, and became slang for "head," something like the word "noggin" in English.

    The Daily News - News 2010

  • For instance, the Latin word testa once meant a pot, and became slang for "head," something like the word "noggin" in English.

    The Daily News - News 2010

Comments

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  • "n. |capitalized| A name of the star Vega."

    --Cent. Dict.

    October 17, 2012