galea
(ˈgeɪlɪə)
[a. L. galea helmet.]
1. Applied in Bot., Zool., etc. to various structures resembling a helmet in shape, function, or position; e.g. the upper part of a labiate flower; the membrane covering the jaws of the Orthoptera and some other insects; a horny cap on the head of a bird; and the like.
| 1834 McMurtrie Curvier's Anim. Kingd. 394 The maxillae are always terminated by a dentated and horny piece covered with a galea. 1836 Penny Cycl. V. 252/3 Galea, the upper lip of a labiate flower. 1877 Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. vii. 402 Two processes terminate the stipes; of these the anterior and outer, the galea, is soft, rounded, and possibly sensory in function. 1880 [see galeate]. 1881 Bentham in Jrnl. Linn. Soc. XVIII. cx. 344 The petals are connivent in a galea over the column. |
2. Med. a. ‘A pain in the Head so call'd because it takes in the whole Head like a helmet’ (Phillips 1706). b. ‘A term for a bandage for the head, somewhat like the form of a helmet’ (Mayne Expos. Lex. 1854).