Etymology

tapetum lucidum

Today it means: A layer of tissue in the eye of many vertebrate animals, immediately behind or sometimes within the retina, that reflects visible light so as to increase the light available to the photoreceptors. Full definition →

Latin tapētum
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromtapētum“tapestry”
  2. English todaytapetum lucidum

From Latin tapētum (“tapestry”) and lūcidum (“bright, shining, clear”), the neuter of lūcidus, literally "bright tapestry".

Words from the same roots

Latintapētum all →

tapettapetum

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.