epiplastron

E1P3I1P3L1A1S1T1R1O1N1

noun

Either of the foremost pair of lateral plates in the plastron of turtles

Scrabble 15
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Meanings

nounepiplastron (plural epiplastrons or epiplastra)

plural epiplastrons · plural epiplastra

  1. anatomyEither of the foremost pair of lateral plates in the plastron of turtles

Origin

Coined by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1872 as epi- + plastron. Superseded the earlier episternum, a nominalised form of the French adjective épisternal, coined by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1818. The prefix is from Ancient Greek ἐπί (epí, “on top of”), in reference to its position as the anteriormost bone of the plastron.

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Cite this entry
APA

epiplastron. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epiplastron

MLA

“epiplastron.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epiplastron. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “epiplastron,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epiplastron.

Source: epiplastron on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.