carapace

English

Etymology

From French carapace (“tortoise shell”), from Portuguese carapaça (“carapace, shell”), of uncertain origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈker.əˌpeɪs/, /ˈkæ.rəˌpeɪs/

Noun

carapace (plural carapaces)

1. A hard protective covering of bone or chitin.
2. in figurative use
   • 2010 January 8ᵗʰ, Simon Jenkins, “The proliferation of nuclear panic is politics at its most ghoulish” in The Guardian, §: “Comment & Debate”, page 29, column 4

     This is all a massive failure of science to pierce the carapace of public ignorance.

Related terms

• carapaced
• carapaceous
• carapacial

Translations

hard protective covering

Bulgarian: черупка (bg) f. Czech: štít (cs) m. Esperanto: karapaco (eo)

Finnish: panssari (fi) French: carapace (fr) f. Russian: карапакс (ru) (karapáks) m.

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French

Etymology

From Portuguese carapaça (“carapace, shell”), of uncertain origin.

Noun

carapace f. (plural carapaces)

1. shell

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Italian

Noun

carapace m.

1. carapace