theca

See also: -theca

English

Strawberry anther with parallel thecae

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] New Latin, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin theca, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Ancient Greek θήκη (thḗkē, “a case, box, receptacle”), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “put, set, place”). Doublet of tay.

Noun

theca (plural thecas or thecae)

1. (biology) Any external case or sheath.
2. (botany) The pollen-producing organ usually found in pairs and forming an anther.
3. (medicine) The twin layers of cells surrounding the basal lamina of an ovarian follicle.
4. (microbiology, planktology) The membrane complex enveloping the cells of certain plankton including diatoms and dinoflagellates.
5. (marine biology) The calcareous wall of a corallite, the exoskeleton of a coral polyp.
6. (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, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “theca”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “theca”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• 'tache, Taché, Teach, chate, cheat, he-cat, tache, teach

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Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek θήκη (thḗkē, “a case, box, receptacle”), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “put, set, place”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈtʰeː.ka/, [ˈt̪ʰeːkä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈte.ka/, [ˈt̪ɛːkä]

Noun

thēca f (genitive thēcae); first declension

1. 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, →OCLC.