Meanings
plural clypei
- biologyThe shield-shaped front part of an insect's head or a spider's cephalothorax.
When viewed from the front, the part of the carapace between the anterior eyes and the front edge of the carapace is called the clypeus.
1996, Michael J. Roberts, Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe (Collins 1996, p. 14)1 more example
Cuisinart stuck a human eyelash to his clypeus with saliva, twisted it into a handlebar mustache, and greeted citizens as they arrived at the rim of the sink.
1990, Daniel Evan Weiss, The Roaches Have No King (Serpent's Tail 2001, p.16)
Origin
- Latinclipeus
- Latinclypeus
- Latinclipeus
- Latinclypeus
- Englishclypeus
Borrowed from Latin clypeus (“round shield”) or clipeus (“round shield”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
German Kopfschild, Clypeus
- Kopfschildfront part of an insect's head or a spider's cephalothorax
- Clypeusfront part of an insect's head or a spider's cephalothorax
Hungarian pajzs, fedőlap
- pajzsfront part of an insect's head or a spider's cephalothorax
- fedőlapfront part of an insect's head or a spider's cephalothorax
- fejpajzsfront part of an insect's head or a spider's cephalothorax
Polish nadustek
- nadustekfront part of an insect's head or a spider's cephalothorax
Portuguese clípeo
- clípeofront part of an insect's head or a spider's cephalothorax
Cite this entry
clypeus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clypeus
“clypeus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clypeus. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “clypeus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clypeus.
Source: clypeus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.