any of various membranous structures, such as the ciliated oral membrane of certain mollusc larvae or the veil-like membrane running around the rim of a jellyfish
2. anatomy
any of various veil-like bodily structures, esp the soft palate
3. botany another word for veil (sense 6)
Word origin
C18: from Latin: veil
velum in American English
(ˈviləm)
nounWord forms: pluralˈvela (ˈvilə)
Biology
any of various veil-like membranous partitions or coverings
; specif.,
a.
soft palate
b.
the lobed, ciliated swimming organ of gastropod larvae, located near the mouth