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Glite Dictionary
🥄 A small cup 🌸 A group of bracts
calyculus

calyculus

9.9
A small cup-shaped hollow that protects tiny parts of plants and animals
  • noun
  • /ˈkælɪkələs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : calículo
  • Each taste bud is housed in a tiny calyculus on the tongue.

Examples

  • The coral's calyculus provides protection for the delicate polyp inside.

  • Microscopic analysis revealed the presence of several calyculi within the tissue sample.

  • The calyculus is important.

  • Look at that calyculus!

  • Each taste bud is housed in a tiny calyculus on the tongue.

  • The coral's calyculus provides protection for the delicate polyp inside.

  • During the examination, scientists identified a small calyculus that acts as a protective structure in marine life.

Synonyms

caliculus
vscalyculus
  • Specialized
9.9

A small cup-shaped part in animals or coral skeletons that holds a tiny organ like a taste bud

is the same in meaning but spelled differently
calycle
vscalyculus
  • Specialized
9.9

A small cup-shaped hollow that holds a tiny animal or body part like a coral polyp

is identical in meaning but uses a different written form

Surface Forms

calyculus singular
calyculi plural

Etymology

Calyculus comes from the Latin calyx ('cup') plus the small ending -culus ('little'), so it literally means 'little cup'. That's why a calyculus is a tiny cup-shaped part that holds a taste bud, an optic cup, or a coral polyp.