Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Testa
{
Test
, ‖Tes′ta
, }Noun.
pl. E.
Tests
(#)
, L. Testae
(#)
. [L.
testa
a piece of burned clay, a broken piece of earthenware, a shell. See Test
a cupel.] 1.
(Zool.)
The external hard or firm covering of many invertebrate animals.
☞ The test of crustaceans and insects is composed largely of chitin; in mollusks it is composed chiefly of calcium carbonate, and is called the shell.
2.
(Bot.)
The outer integument of a seed; the episperm, or spermoderm.
Definition 2024
testa
testa
English
Noun
testa (plural testas or testae or testæ)
- (botany) A seed coat.
- The testa develops from the tissue, the integument, originally surrounding the ovule.
- 1840, James Scott Bowerbank, A History of the Fossil Fruits and Seeds of the London Clay, page 30,
- The seeds are furnished with a reticulated testa, very much in appearance like that of the seeds of two closely-allied pericarps in the cabinet of my friend Mr. Ward, of Wellclose-square, the names of which I have been unable to obtain, but which present strong evidence of belonging to the Malvaceæ.
- 1969, C. W. Bennett, Seed Transmission of Plant Viruses, Alison Smith, Advances in Virus Research, Volume 14, page 224,
- In tests with the Lincoln and Virginia varieties of cowpea, Crowley (1959) found that, in plants infected with bean southern mosaic virus before blossoming, the virus was present in nearly 100% of the testae and endosperms of seeds of both varieties, but could not be detected in the embryos.
- 1977, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australian Journal of Plant Physiology, page 354,
- Thus, two conditions must be satisfied for the testas to have this effect: contact between the testas and the radicle, and the presence of at least half of the testas.
- 2005, D. W. Dickson, D. De Waele, Nematode Parasites of Peanut, Michel Luc, Richard A. Sikora, John Bridge, Plant Parasitic Nematodes in Subtropical and Tropical Agriculture, page 419,
- A.[Aphelenchoides] arachidis is a parasite of pods, testae, roots and hypocotyls, but not the cotyledons, embryos or other parts of the plant (Bos, 1977a; Bridge et al., 1977).
- 2007, J. Smartt, Evolution of American Phaseolus beans under domestication, Peter John Ucko, G. W. Dimbleby (editors), The Domestication and Exploitation of Plants and Animals, page 458,
- One of the most remarkable features of cultivated beans is the enormous range of testa colours and patterns which can be found.
- (marine biology) The external calciferous shell, or endoskeleton, of an echinoderm; the test.
Anagrams
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /tɛs.ta/
Verb
testa
- third-person singular past historic of tester
Anagrams
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈtɛsta]
Etymology
Noun
testa f (plural teste)
Synonyms
- (part of the body): capo
Related terms
- a testa
- fuori di testa
- mal di testa
- montarsi la testa
- scuotere la testa
- testa a testa
- testa calda
- testacoda
- testa di **** (vulgar)
- testa di ponte
- testa di rapa
- testa di serie
- testa d'uovo
- testa dura
- testa matta
- testa o croce
- testata
- testiera
- cacciare in testa
- titoli di testa
Verb
testa
Anagrams
Latin
Etymology
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈtes.ta/, [ˈtɛs.ta]
Noun
testa f (genitive testae); first declension
- a piece of burned clay; brick, tile; earthen pot; potsherd
- (figuratively) a shellfish; shell; a piece of bone, skull
Inflection
First declension.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
nominative | testa | testae |
genitive | testae | testārum |
dative | testae | testīs |
accusative | testam | testās |
ablative | testā | testīs |
vocative | testa | testae |
Derived terms
Related terms
- testuātium
- testūdineātus
- testūdineus
Descendants
References
- testa in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- testa in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- TESTA in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
- Félix Gaffiot (1934), “testa”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
- testa in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
- testa in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
- testa in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
- ↑ Partridge, Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English
- ↑ testa in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Old Provençal
Etymology
Noun
testa f (oblique plural testas, nominative singular testa, nominative plural testas)
Portuguese
Etymology
From Old Portuguese testa, from Latin testa.
Pronunciation
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈtɛʃ.tɐ/
- Hyphenation: tes‧ta
Noun
testa f (plural testas)
Romansch
Etymology
Noun
testa f (plural testas)
Usage notes
In Rumantsch Grischun, the literary standard language, testa is used in the figurative sense, and chau in the anatomical sense. Usage differs somewhat, however, between dialects.
Synonyms
- (Rumantsch Grischun) chau
- (Sursilvan) tgau
- (Sutsilvan) tgieu
- (Surmiran) tgea
- (Puter) cho
- (Vallader) cheu
Sicilian
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /t̪ʲɛs(ʃ)ta/
- Hyphenation: te‧sta
Noun
testa f (plural testi)
Spanish
Etymology 1
Noun
testa f (plural testas)
Etymology 2
Inflected form of testar.
Verb
testa
- Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of testar.
- Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of testar.
- Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present indicative form of testar.
Derived terms
- testa coronada
- testa de ferro, testaferro