Emily Dickinson Lexicon

MEM'BRANE, n. [Fr. from L. membrana; Ir. meambrum. The last component part of this word is found in the Ethiopic and Amharic; Eth. ብሬሃና bereana, parchment, vellum, from በረሀ barah, to shine or be clear. Ludolf, Col. 231. 2. The substance then is named from its clearness or transparency.]

In anatomy, a thin, white, flexible skin, formed by fibers interwoven like network, and serving to cover some part of the body. Encyc. The term is applied to the thin expanded parts, of various texture, both in animals and vegetables.