'Elytra' definitions:

Definition of 'Elytra'

From: GCIDE

Elytron \El"y*tron\ (?; 277), Elytrum \El"y*trum\ (-tr?m)n.; pl. Elytra. [NL., fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to roll round.] (Zo["o]l.) (a) One of the anterior pair of wings in the Coleoptera and some other insects, when they are thick and serve only as a protection for the posterior pair. See Coleoptera. (b) One of the shieldlike dorsal scales of certain annelids. See Ch[ae]topoda. [1913 Webster]