O*per"cu*late (?), O*per"cu*la`ted (?), a. [L. operculatus, p.p. of operculare to furnish with a lid, fr. operculum lid.]
1. Bot.
Closed by a lid or cover, as the capsules of the mosses.
2. Zool.
Having an operculum, or an apparatus for protecting the gills; -- said of shells and of fishes.
© Webster 1913.