prosternum B2 Topic:Animals Also spelled pro-sternum US /proʊˈstɝnəm/ UK /prəʊˈstɜːnəm/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun entomology: the ventral exoskeletal plate of an insect's prothorax The beetle rubbed a ridge on its prosternum against a neighboring plate to make sound. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · entomology: the ventral... prosternal plate Word family Derived forms prosternal Related forms prothoraxsternummesosternummetasternum Etymology Formed from pro-, 'before or front,' + sternum, 'breastbone or ventral plate.' In entomology it names the lower plate of the prothorax, the insect's front thoracic segment. Topics Animals External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # prosternum **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /proʊˈstɝnəm/ **IPA (UK):** /prəʊˈstɜːnəm/ ## Meanings 1. entomology: the ventral exoskeletal plate of an insect's prothorax ## Examples - The beetle rubbed a ridge on its prosternum against a neighboring plate to make sound. ## Synonyms - prosternal plate ## Derived Forms - prosternal ## Related Forms - prothorax - sternum - mesosternum - metasternum ## Etymology Formed from pro-, 'before or front,' + sternum, 'breastbone or ventral plate.' In entomology it names the lower plate of the prothorax, the insect's front thoracic segment. ## Topics - Animals markdown