ascidian

[ uh-sid-ee-uhn ]

/ əˈsɪd i ən /

Zoology

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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. 2023

How to use ascidian in a sentence

They pass through peculiar phases of development, the young ascidian appearing like a tadpole-body.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2|Various
Castle77 observed and studied the phenomenon of self-sterility in an Ascidian, Ciona intestinalis, which is hermaphroditic.
The Organism as a Whole|Jacques Loeb
Now this new organisation is not that of a branchial apparatus but represents a very small but complete ascidian (Fig. 13).
The Science and Philosophy of the Organism|Hans Driesch
Appendicularia is a curious little Ascidian, differing from all the others in its possession of a tail.
Thomas Henry Huxley; A Sketch Of His Life And Work|P. Chalmers Mitchell

He pointed out also that the "notochord" was confined to the tail of the ascidian larva.
Form and Function|E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell

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