-ēəm noun
also pro·po·de·on -ēən
( plural pro·podeums also propo·dea -ēə)
Etymology: propodeum from New Latin, alteration of propodeon, from pro- (I) + podeon; propodeon from New Latin
: the part of the thorax of a hymenopteran that lies immediately over and partly surrounding the insertion of the petiole of the abdomen and represents a basal abdominal segment which has become fused with the thorax