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ascidian

[ uh-sid-ee-uhn ]
/ əˈsɪd i ən /
Zoology

noun

any solitary or colonial tunicate of the class Ascidiacea, exhibiting in the larval stage the vertebrate characteristics of a notocord and hollow nerve cord.

adjective

belonging or pertaining to the class Ascidiacea.

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Origin of ascidian

1855–60; <New Latin Ascidi(um) a tunicate genus (see ascidium) + -an

Words nearby ascidian

aschelminth, Aschelminthes, Aschheim-Zondek test, Aschoff body, asci, ascidian, ascidium, ascigerous, ASCII, ascites, asclepiadaceous
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for ascidian

British Dictionary definitions for ascidian

ascidian
/ (əˈsɪdɪən) /

noun

any minute marine invertebrate animal of the class Ascidiacea, such as the sea squirt, the adults of which are degenerate and sedentary: subphylum Tunicata (tunicates)
ascidian tadpole the free-swimming larva of an ascidian, having a tadpole-like tail containing the notochord and nerve cord

adjective

of, relating to, or belonging to the Ascidiacea
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