amphioxus

[ am-fee-ok-suh s ]

/ ˌæm fiˈɒk səs /

noun, plural am·phi·ox·i [am-fee-ok-sahy] /ˌæm fiˈɒk saɪ/, am·phi·ox·us·es.

Zoology. lancelet.

Nearby words

Origin of amphioxus

1830–40; < New Latin: literally, sharp at both ends < Greek amphi- amphi- + oxýs pointed

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for amphioxus

Wilson, separation of segmentation spheres of amphioxus egg, 60.
The Biological Problem of To-day|Oscar Hertwig
They, however, resemble even as much in arrangement and greater number the buccal cirri of Amphioxus.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)|David Starr Jordan
Certain arrangements of the pharyngeal wall of Ammocoetes show a remarkable resemblance to what is found in Amphioxus.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8|Various
Neither the Tunicata nor Amphioxus can by any possibility be on the direct line of ascent from the invertebrate to the vertebrate.
The Origin of Vertebrates|Walter Holbrook Gaskell

The egg of the lowest vertebrate, amphioxus, shows these changes in a simple and apparently primitive form.
The Whence and the Whither of Man|John Mason Tyler

British Dictionary definitions for amphioxus

amphioxus

/ (ˌæmfɪˈɒksəs) /

noun plural -oxi (-ˈɒksaɪ) or -oxuses

another name for the lancelet

Word Origin for amphioxus

C19: from New Latin: both ends being sharp, from amphi- + Greek oxus sharp

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

Science definitions for amphioxus

amphioxus

[ ăm′fē-ŏk′səs ]

See lancelet.