'Elytron' definitions:

Definition of 'elytron'

(from WordNet)
noun
Either of the horny front wings in beetles and some other insects which cover and protect the functional hind wings [syn: wing case, elytron]

Definition of 'Elytron'

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]