preocular, a. (n.)
(priːˈɒkjʊlə(r))
Also præ-.
[f. pre- B. 3 + L. ocul-us an eye + -ar1.]
A. adj. Situated in front of the eye: spec. applied to certain plates in the head of a reptile.
| 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. IV. xlvi. 316 Preocular... When antennæ are inserted before the eyes. 1852 Macgillivray Hist. Brit. Birds V. 522 The preocular bristly feathers blackish. |
B. as n. One of the preocular plates of a scaled reptile, as a snake or lizard.
| 1890 in Cent. Dict. |