Cribellum
/krɪˈbɛləm/noun
A small sieve-like anatomical structure, especially the silk-producing plate found in some spiders.
Did you know?In cribellate spiders, the cribellum produces exceptionally fine woolly silk, which is combed by specialized leg hairs into a sticky-looking capture thread without liquid glue.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*krei-
“To separate, distinguish, or sift; the reconstructed root behind several words involving judgment and filtering.”
Proto-Italic
PIE/Italic
*kribrom
“A sieve or filtering implement, formed from the root associated with sifting.”
Classical Latin
Latin
cribrum
“A sieve, strainer, or filtering device.”
Late Latin
Latin
cribellum
“A small sieve; a diminutive form of cribrum.”
19th Century
Scientific Latin
cribellum
“A sieve-like anatomical structure, adopted in biological terminology.”
Modern English
English
cribellum
“A specialized silk-producing plate in some spiders, and more generally a small sieve-like anatomical structure.”