epigyne

== English == === Etymology === From modern Latin epigynum, from Ancient Greek ἐπί (epí) + γυνή (gunḗ, “female”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈɛpɪd͡ʒaɪn/ === Noun === epigyne (plural epigynes) (zoology) The external female sex organ in arachnids. 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)