Patagium

//pəˈteɪd͡ʒi.əm// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The thin membrane that extends between the limbs and body of a bat or of gliding mammals.
  2. 2
    A similar membrane between the body and wing of a bird.
  3. 3
    One of the scales affixed to the pronotum of lepidopterous insects; the tegula.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin patagīum (“gilded edging of a woman's tunic”), from an unattested Ancient Greek παταγεῖον (patageîon), perhaps from πάταγος (pátagos, “clatter”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.