chitinous

Variant of chitin

noun

a tough, horny polysaccharide, (CHNO), secreted by the epidermis and forming the main bulk of the outer covering of insects, crustaceans, etc.

Origin: Fr chitine < Gr chitōn: see chiton

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
link/cite print suggestion box