ascidian
Americannoun
adjective
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)
-
the free-swimming larva of an ascidian, having a tadpole-like tail containing the notochord and nerve cord
adjective
Etymology
Origin of ascidian
1855–60; < New Latin Ascidi ( um ) a tunicate genus ( see ascidium) + -an
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The findings suggest that upon fertilization of ascidian oocytes, friction forces play a crucial role in reshaping and reorganizing their insides, heralding the next steps in their developmental cascade.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2024
"Especially the ascidian larva is an ideal model for understanding early vertebrate development."
From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2024
The scientists microscopically analyzed fertilized ascidian oocytes and realized that they were following very reproducible changes in cell shape leading up to the formation of the contraction pole.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2024
“The sponge or the ascidian that these things carry should offer it all the camouflage it needs,” Hosie said in a Guardian article.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2022
My ancestor, the ascidian, in fact, inherited the business when it consisted of little more than a single spindle; since his day my nearer ancestors have added loom after loom.”
From Telepathy and the Subliminal Self by Mason, R. Osgood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
