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prettygoodwordcarapace (KAR-uh-pays) - n., the bony or chitinous case or shield covering some or all of the top of an animal such as a) the shell of a turtle or b) the head & thorax covering of a crustacean; a protective shell-like covering likened to that of a turtle or crustacean.
So a physical or figurative protection. The entire back of a crab or the head covering of a prawn or shrimp are carapaces. Here's the prawn's shown in red:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
Dates to 1836, adopted from French, from either Spanish carapacho or Portuguese carapaça, both of uncertain origin, but it has been sometimes speculated to be related to Ancient Greek kárabos, beetle.
---L.
So a physical or figurative protection. The entire back of a crab or the head covering of a prawn or shrimp are carapaces. Here's the prawn's shown in red:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
Dates to 1836, adopted from French, from either Spanish carapacho or Portuguese carapaça, both of uncertain origin, but it has been sometimes speculated to be related to Ancient Greek kárabos, beetle.
---L.
