Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

acanthopterygian

[ak-uh n-thop-tuh-rij-ee-uh n]
See more synonyms for acanthopterygian on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. belonging or pertaining to the Acanthopterygii (Acanthopteri), the group of spiny-finned fishes, including the bass and perch.
Show More
noun
  1. an acanthopterygian fish.
Show More

Origin of acanthopterygian

1825–35; < New Latin Acanthopterygi(i) (acantho- acantho- + Greek pterýgi(on) small wing, fin + Latin -ī masculine plural ending) + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for acanthopterygian

Historical Examples

  • Acanthopterygian, ak-an-thop-tėr-ij′i-an, adj. having spiny fins.

    Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)

    Various

British Dictionary definitions for acanthopterygian

acanthopterygian

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Acanthopterygii, a large group of teleost fishes having spiny fin rays. The group includes most saltwater bony fishes
Show More
noun
  1. any fish belonging to the Acanthopterygii
Show More
Compare malacopterygian

Word Origin

C19: from New Latin Acanthopterygii, from acantho- + Greek pterúgion fin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
acanthopterygian in Science

acanthopterygian

[ăk′ən-thŏp′tə-rĭj′ē-ən]
  1. Any of a large group of teleost fishes of the superorder Acanthopterygii, having spiny rays in the dorsal and anal fins and including the bass, perch, mackerel, and swordfish.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.