epiphragm

[ ep-uh-fram ]
/ ˈɛp əˌfræm /

noun

a calcified or membranous septum produced by certain land snails during hibernation and functioning to cover the shell opening and prevent desiccation.
Botany. a membrane enclosing the capsule in certain mosses.

Origin of epiphragm

1820–30; < Greek epíphragma covering, lid, equivalent to epi- epi- + phrágma fence

OTHER WORDS FROM epiphragm

ep·i·phrag·mal [ep-uh-frag-muh l] /ˌɛp əˈfræg məl/, adjective

Words nearby epiphragm

epiphenomenalism, epiphenomenon, epiphloedal, epiphonema, epiphora, epiphragm, epiphylaxis, epiphyll, epiphyllous, epiphyllum, epiphysial arrest

British Dictionary definitions for epiphragm

epiphragm
/ (ˈɛpɪˌfræm) /

noun

a disc of calcium phosphate and mucilage secreted by snails over the aperture of their shells before hibernation

Word Origin for epiphragm

C19: via New Latin from Greek epiphragma a lid, from epiphrassein, from epi- + phrassein to place in an enclosure