n. The external calciferous shell, or endoskeleton, of an echinoderm; the test.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. In zoology, a test.
n. In botany, the outer integument or coat of a seed: it is usually hard and brittle, whence the name, which answers to seed-shell. See seed, 1. Also test, spermoderm, and episperm.
n. [capitalized] A name of the star Vega.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. protective outer layer of seeds of flowering plants
Word Usage
"For instance, the Latin word testa once meant a pot, and became slang for "head," something like the word "noggin" in English."