arthropod

[ ahr-thruh-pod ]

noun

1. any invertebrate of the phylum Arthropoda, having a segmented body, jointed limbs, and usually a chitinous shell that undergoes moltings, including the insects, spiders and other arachnids, crustaceans, and myriapods.

adjective

1. Also ar·throp·o·dal [] ar·throp·o·dan [] ar·throp·o·dous [] belonging or pertaining to the Arthropoda.

arthropod

/ ɑːˈθrɒpədəs; ˈɑːθrəˌpɒd /

noun

1. any invertebrate of the phylum Arthropoda, having jointed limbs, a segmented body, and an exoskeleton made of chitin. The group includes the crustaceans, insects, arachnids, and centipedes

arthropod

/ är′thrə-pŏd′ /

1. Any of numerous invertebrate animals of the phylum Arthopoda, characterized by an exoskeleton made of chitin and a segmented body with pairs of jointed appendages. Arthropods share many features with annelids and may have evolved from them in the Precambrian Era. Arthropods include the insects, crustaceans, arachnids, myriapods, and extinct trilobites, and are the largest phylum in the animal kingdom.

Derived Forms

• arthropodous, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of arthropod¹

1875–80; < New Latin Arthropoda; arthro-, -pod

Word History and Origins

Origin of arthropod¹

C19 from NL, from Gk arthron joint + podus footed, from pous foot

Example Sentences

Scientists find an increase in the overall numbers of arthropods in the Arctic, but a decline in diversity.

From Nautilus

Nonlinear trends in abundance and diversity and complex responses to climate change in arctic arthropods.

From Nautilus

There are more species of insects on land than all other arthropods combined, says Kip Will.

From Science News For Students

Unique features help scientists put arthropods into subgroups.

From Science News For Students

My colleagues and I conducted a visual survey of 50 North Carolina homes to inventory just which arthropods live under our roofs.

From No Straight News

Audouin gave the detailed demonstration of this by his accurate and minute determination of the pieces of the arthropod skeleton.

From Project Gutenberg

Turn the Arthropod on its back and the relative positions of the systems of organs are the same as in the Vertebrate.

From Project Gutenberg

Instances are seen in the Tunicata, and in various parasitic arthropod forms, such as Lerna, etc.

From Project Gutenberg

Such an arrangement suggests that in the ancient arthropod type a double segmentation existed, viz.

From Project Gutenberg

These cavities both in the vertebrate and in the arthropod disappear before the adult condition is reached.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ant
• aphid
• bee
• beetle
• butterfly
• cockroach
• dragonfly
• flea
• fruit fly
• gnat
• grasshopper
• ladybug
• mite
• mosquito
• moth
• pest
• spider
• termite
• tick