exuviae

See also: exuviæ

English

A dragonfly shedding the integument it wore as a nymph. The nymphal shell will remain as the exuviae. The white filaments hanging out of the exuviae are the linings of the tracheae, showing that they too are part of the integument.

This dragonfly has left its slate-grey exuviae and is expanding its new, soft integument to full size before it hardens. Note that the exuviae show every detail of the external anatomy of the nymph, including eyes, mouthparts, antennae and bristles

Etymology

From Latin exuō (“cast off, undress”).

Noun

exuviae

1. plural of exuvia

Noun

exuviae pl (plural only)

1. The coverings of an animal that have been shed or cast off, particularly the molted exoskeletons of arthropods.

   Synonyms: exuvium, exuvia

2. (historical, military) Among the Ancient Romans, weaponry and equipment stripped from the person of a foe; booty.

Related terms

• exuvial

Latin

Etymology

From exuō.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ekˈsu.u̯i.ae̯/, [ɛkˈs̠uː̯iäe̯]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ekˈsu.vi.e/, [eɡˈzuːvie]

Noun

exuviae f pl (genitive exuviārum); first declension

1. spoils, booty
2. skin of a snake etc. sloughed off
3. remains (that which has been taken off)

Declension

First-declension noun, plural only.

Case	Plural
Nominative	exuviae
Genitive	exuviārum
Dative	exuviīs
Accusative	exuviās
Ablative	exuviīs
Vocative	exuviae

Alternative forms

• exuvia
• exuvium

Noun

exuviae

1. inflection of exuvia:
   1. nominative/vocative plural
   2. genitive/dative singular

References

• “exuviae”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “exuviae”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• exuviae in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.