velum

Meanings

1. A thin membrane resembling a veil or curtain.
2. The soft palate.
3. A thin membrane partially covering the cluster of sporangia near the leaf base in quillworts and their extinct relatives.
4. A veil-like membrane of immature mushrooms extending from the margin of the cap to the stem and is torn by growth, to reveal the gills.
5. A locomotory and feeding organ provided with cilia found in the larval stage of bivalves.
6. An annular membrane, typically bordering a cavity, especially in certain molluscs, medusae, and other invertebrates.
7. A delicate membrane found on certain protists.
8. An accessory cloud resembling a veil extending over a large distance; normally associated with cumulus and cumulonimbus.
9. a thin coating or film of mucus or phlegm.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin vēlum (“a cloth, covering, awning, curtain, veil”). Doublet of veil.