theca

Etymology

From New Latin, from Latin theca, from Ancient Greek θήκη (thḗkē, “a case, box, receptacle”), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “put, set, place”). Doublet of tay.

Noun

theca (plural thecas or thecae)

1. (biology) Any external case or sheath.
2. (botany) The pollen producing organ usually found in pairs and forming an anther.
3. (medicine) The twin layers of cells surrounding the basal lamina of an ovarian follicle
4. (microbiology, planktology) The membrane complex enveloping the cells of certain plankton including diatoms and dinoflagellates
5. (marine biology) The calcareous wall of a corallite, the exoskeleton of a coral polyp
6. (Christianity) A case for the corporal cloth used in the Eucharist.

Theca (1) of a dinoflagellate

Further reading

• theca in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• theca in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• theca at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• 'tache, Taché, Teach, chate, cheat, he-cat, tache, teach

Etymology

From Ancient Greek θήκη (thḗkē, “a case, box, receptacle”), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “put, set, place”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈtʰeː.ka/

Noun

thēca f (genitive thēcae); first declension

1. a case, envelope, sheath

See also

• hypothēca

References

• theca in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• theca in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• theca in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• theca in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• theca in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911