pygidium C2 Topic:Animals US /paɪˈdʒɪdiəm/ UK /paɪˈdʒɪdiəm/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun the terminal dorsal plate or last exposed abdominal segment of certain insects The beetle's pointed pygidium extended beyond the ends of its wing cases. 2 noun the fused posterior shield of a trilobite or the comparable tail region of some other arthropods The fossil's pygidium remained attached even though most thoracic segments were missing. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the terminal dorsal plate... terminal abdominal plate 2 noun · the fused posterior shield... tail shield Word family Derived forms pygidialpropygidium Related forms abdomentelsontrilobiteelytronarthropod Etymology Coined in New Latin from Greek pyge ("rump, buttocks") + the diminutive suffix -idium. Zoologists use it for the terminal body plate or fused tail shield of several arthropod groups. Topics Animals External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # pygidium **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /paɪˈdʒɪdiəm/ **IPA (UK):** /paɪˈdʒɪdiəm/ ## Meanings 1. the terminal dorsal plate or last exposed abdominal segment of certain insects 2. the fused posterior shield of a trilobite or the comparable tail region of some other arthropods ## Examples - The beetle's pointed pygidium extended beyond the ends of its wing cases. - The fossil's pygidium remained attached even though most thoracic segments were missing. ## Synonyms - terminal abdominal plate - tail shield ## Derived Forms - pygidial - propygidium ## Related Forms - abdomen - telson - trilobite - elytron - arthropod ## Etymology Coined in New Latin from Greek pyge ("rump, buttocks") + the diminutive suffix -idium. Zoologists use it for the terminal body plate or fused tail shield of several arthropod groups. ## Topics - Animals markdown