/ˈnəʊtə/, U.S. /ˈnoʊdə/.notumn.
/ˈnəʊtəm/, U.S. /ˈnoʊd(ə)m//ˈnəʊtə/, U.S. /ˈnoʊdə/. Entomology.
In an insect: the tergum or dorsal exoskeleton of a thoracic segment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > parts of insects > [noun] > thorax > dorsal part of or notum
notum1877
1877 T. H. Huxley Man. Anat. Invertebrated Animals vii. 404 A distinct median sclerite, the sternum, may be observed; and a much larger tergal piece, the notum.
1883 Amer. Naturalist 17 823 The prothorax [of Orthoptera] is usually remarkably large, particularly the notum.
1944 R. Matheson Entomol. for Introd. Courses iii. 53 The tergal plate (tergum or notum) almost completely covers the segment like a bonnet and extends over the greater part of the mesothorax.
1977 O. W. Richards & R. G. Davies Imms's Gen. Textbk. Entomol. (ed. 10) I. v. 43 In all known insects..a secondary segmentation has become established whereby the intersegmental sclerites have become closely associated with the notum in front or with the one behind.
1994 P. J. Gullan & P. S. Cranston Insects ii. 40/2 The pterothoracic nota each have two main divisions: the anterior wing-bearing alinotum and the posterior phragma-bearing postnotum.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1877