Ma'anar ƙamus na kalmar "carapace" tana nufin murfin kariya mai ƙarfi ko harsashi wanda ke tattare da kare jikin wasu dabbobi, kamar kunkuru, kaguwa, da lobsters. Tsarin kashi ne ko chitinous wanda yawanci ya kasu kashi-kashi kuma yana rufe saman bayan dabbar, yana ba da kariya ta jiki da tallafi. Hakanan za'a iya amfani da kalmar a fili don komawa ga duk wani abu mai ƙarfi, kariya daga waje ko harsashi, kamar murfin wasu tsire-tsire ko kwandon kariya na wasu na'urorin lantarki.