theca

English

Etymology

From New Latin, from Latin thēca, from Ancient Greek θήκη (thḗkē, “a case, box, receptacle”), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “put, set, place”). Doublet of tay.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈθiːkə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

theca (plural thecas or thecae)

2. (biology) Any of several external cases or sheaths.
   1. (biology, botany) The pollen-producing organ usually found in pairs and forming an anther.
   2. (biology, medicine) The theca folliculi: the twin layers of cells surrounding the basal lamina of an ovarian follicle.
   3. (biology, medicine) The thecal sac: the portion of the dura mater that surrounds the spinal cord and the cauda equina.
   4. (biology, microbiology, planktology) The membrane complex enveloping the cells of certain plankton including diatoms and dinoflagellates.
   5. (biology, marine biology) The calcareous wall of a corallite, the exoskeleton of a coral polyp.
   6. (biology, microbiology, mycology) A sporangium: a spore case.
4. (Christianity) A case for the corporal cloth used in the Eucharist.

Derived terms

• endotheca
• endothecium
• epitheca
• exotheca
• exothecium
• extrathecal
• gnathotheca
• gonotheca
• hydrotheca
• hypotheca
• intrathecal
• karyotheca
• mesotheca
• oötheca
• ootheca
• podotheca
• rhinotheca
• sarcotheca
• spermatheca
• spermatotheca
• theca cordis
• theca externa
• theca folliculi
• theca interna
• thecal
• thecaphore
• thecasporous
• thecate
• theciferous
• theciform
• thecitis
• thecoma

Related terms

• intrathecally
• thecium

Further reading

• “theca”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “theca”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “theca”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• 'tache, Tache, Taché, Teach, Tâche, chate, cheat, he-cat, tache, teach