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Webster 1913 Edition

‖

Noun.

;

pl.

Thecae

(#)

[L., fr. Gr. [GREEK] a case to put anything in. See

a cover.]

A sheath; a case;

as, the

theca

, or cell, of an anther; the

theca

, or spore case, of a fungus; the

theca

of the spinal cord.

(Zool.)

(a)

The chitinous cup which protects the hydranths of certain hydroids.

(b)

The more or less cuplike calicle of a coral.

(c)

The wall forming a calicle of a coral.