Tegmina

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A pair of thickened forewings found in certain insects that serve as protective covers for the hindwings and body
2. The sclerotized outer wings of some insects designed to shield delicate wings beneath from damage
3. Forewings in specific insect species that provide structural support and defense for other wings during flight and rest

Etymology: Tegmina is the plural of "tegmen", a term that entered English as a technical coinage from New Latin, the scientific Latin used by naturalists. Its ancestor is the Latin noun "tegimen", meaning a covering, from the verb "tegere", to cover. The Latin form was shortened, or syncopated, to "tegmen", dropping a syllable in the middle, and that shorter form is what entomologists adopted. The word therefore describes its function in its own name: these thickened front wings act as a protective shield, folded over the delicate hindwings and abdomen. Beetles such as ladybirds and weevils have them, as do grasshoppers and crickets, though in grasshoppers and crickets the same structure is usually called a tegmen as well.