Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tapetum lucidum

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.29 in modern English

Syllables: tape-tum lu-cidum
IPA

23

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

3

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

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.

Etymology

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

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: tapētum

Inflected Forms

tapeta lucida (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

tapestry tapetum eyeshine

Questions

What does tapetum lucidum mean?: 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.
Where does tapetum lucidum come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce tapetum lucidum

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