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, especially one which covers the dorsal portion of an animal.
2. in figurative use
   • 2010 January 8, 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 (čerupka)
• Czech: štít (cs) m
• Esperanto: karapaco (eo)
• Finnish: panssari (fi)

• French: carapace (fr) f
• Russian: карапакс (ru) (karapáks) m 
• Spanish: carapacho (es) m, caparazón (es) 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 (plural carapaci)

1. carapace