theca
English
Strawberry anther with parallel thecae
Etymology
From New Latin, from Latin thēca, from Ancient Greek θήκη (thḗkē, “a case, box, receptacle”), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “put, set, place”). Doublet of tay.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈθiːkə/
Noun
theca (plural thecas or thecae)
- (biology) Any external case or sheath.
- (botany) The pollen-producing organ usually found in pairs and forming an anther.
- (medicine) The twin layers of cells surrounding the basal lamina of an ovarian follicle.
- (microbiology, planktology) The membrane complex enveloping the cells of certain plankton including diatoms and dinoflagellates.
- (marine biology) The calcareous wall of a corallite, the exoskeleton of a coral polyp.
- (Christianity) A case for the corporal cloth used in the Eucharist.
Theca (1) of a dinoflagellate
Derived terms
- epitheca
- gnathotheca
- hypotheca
- ootheca
- spermatheca
- theca externa
- theca folliculi
- theca interna
- thecal
- thecate
- thecoma
Related terms
- thecium
Further reading
- theca in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- theca in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- theca at OneLook Dictionary Search
Anagrams
- 'tache, Tache, Taché, Teach, Tâche, chate, cheat, he-cat, tache, teach
Kikuyu
Alternative forms
- theeca
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ðɛːɕa/
Verb
theca (infinitive gũtheca)
- to pierce, to stab[1]
Related terms
(Nouns)
- mũthece class 3
References
- Armstrong, Lilias E. (1940). The Phonetic and Tonal Structure of Kikuyu, p. 360. Rep. 1967. (Also in 2018 by Routledge).
Latin
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek θήκη (thḗkē, “a case, box, receptacle”), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “put, set, place”).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈtʰeː.ka/, [ˈt̪ʰeːkä]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈte.ka/, [ˈt̪ɛːkä]
Noun
thēca f (genitive thēcae); first declension
- a case, envelope, sheath
Declension
First-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | thēca | thēcae |
| Genitive | thēcae | thēcārum |
| Dative | thēcae | thēcīs |
| Accusative | thēcam | thēcās |
| Ablative | thēcā | thēcīs |
| Vocative | thēca | thēcae |
Descendants
- Aromanian: teacã
- French: taie, thèque
- → Irish: tiach
- Italian: tega, teca
- Romanian: teacă
- Spanish: tecla
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 with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- theca in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- theca in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911