Standard Lemma guide

epigyne

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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  • /ˈɛpɪd͡ʒaɪn/

1

noun

Meaning 1

The external female sex organ in arachnids.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology

Examples

  • 1996: This [genital] area is inconspicuous in most adult males and in immature females, but in adult females of the majority of species it is modified into a variably shaped, more or less sclerotized structure called the epigyne. — Michael J. Roberts, Spiders of Britain and Northern Europe (Collins 1996, p. 16)

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From modern Latin epigynum, from Ancient Greek ἐπί (epí) + γυνή (gunḗ, “female”).