Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1.
thick membrane around the mammalian ovum;
can be penetrated by one sperm in the fertilization process;
usually remains around the fertilized egg until it is implanted in the wall of the uterus;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Zona \Zo"na\, n.; pl. Zonae. [L., a girdle. See Zone.]
A zone or band; a layer.
[1913 Webster]
Zona pellucida. [NL.] (Biol.)
(a) The outer transparent layer, or envelope, of the ovum. It
is a more or less elastic membrane with radiating striae,
and corresponds to the cell wall of an ordinary cell. See
Ovum, and Illust. of Microscope.
(b) The zona radiata.
Zona radiata [NL.] (Biol.), a radiately striated membrane
situated next the yolk of an ovum, or separated from it by
a very delicate membrane only.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
zona pellucida
n 1: thick membrane around the mammalian ovum; can be penetrated
by one sperm in the fertilization process; usually remains
around the fertilized egg until it is implanted in the wall
of the uterus