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VELUM
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected form: vela
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A muscular flap that closes off the nasopharynx during swallowing or speaking
Synonyms:
soft palate; velum
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("velum" is a kind of...):
flap (a movable piece of tissue partly connected to the body)
Meronyms (parts of "velum"):
uvula (a small pendant fleshy lobe at the back of the soft palate)
Holonyms ("velum" is a part of...):
palate; roof of the mouth (the upper surface of the mouth that separates the oral and nasal cavities)
Derivation:
velar (of or relating to the velum)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A membranous covering attached to the immature fruiting body of certain mushrooms
Synonyms:
veil; velum
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("velum" is a kind of...):
plant part; plant structure (any part of a plant or fungus)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "velum"):
universal veil (membrane initially completely investing the young sporophore of various mushrooms that is ruptured by growth; represented in the mature mushroom by a volva around lower part of stem and scales on upper surface of the cap)
partial veil (membrane of the young sporophore of various mushrooms extending from the margin of the cap to the stem and is ruptured by growth; represented in mature mushroom by an annulus around the stem and sometimes a cortina on the margin of the cap)
