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brachiopod

[brey-kee-uh-pod, brak-ee-]
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noun
  1. any mollusklike, marine animal of the phylum Brachiopoda, having a dorsal and ventral shell; a lamp shell.
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adjective
  1. Also bra·chi·op·o·dous [brey-kee-op-uh-duh s, brak-ee] /ˌbreɪ kiˈɒp ə dəs, ˌbræk i/. belonging or pertaining to the Brachiopoda.
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Origin of brachiopod

From the New Latin word Brachiopoda, dating back to 1830–40. See brachio-, -pod
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for brachiopod

Historical Examples

  • The process is apparently the same in a nebula or a brachiopod, although much more intricate in the latter.

    The Soul of the Far East

    Percival Lowell

  • Spirifer, spir′i-fėr, n. a brachiopod of the Carboniferous system.

  • A genus unfigured and imperfectly described as differing in some respects from Terebratula and other Brachiopod.

    A Conchological Manual

    George Brettingham Sowerby

British Dictionary definitions for brachiopod

brachiopod

noun
  1. any marine invertebrate animal of the phylum Brachiopoda, having a ciliated feeding organ (lophophore) and a shell consisting of dorsal and ventral valvesAlso called: lamp shell See also bryozoan
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Word Origin

C19: from New Latin Brachiopoda; see brachium, -pod
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

Word Origin and History for brachiopod

n.

"bivalve mollusk," 1836, Modern Latin, from Greek brakhion "arm" (see brachio-) + pous "foot" (see foot (n.)). They have long spiral "arms" on either side of their mouths.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
brachiopod in Science

brachiopod

[brā′kē-ə-pŏd′]
  1. Any of various marine invertebrate animals of the phylum Brachiopoda that resemble clams. Brachiopods have paired upper and lower shells attached to a usually stationary stalk and hollow tentacles covered with cilia that sweep food particles into the mouth. Brachiopods are probably related to the phoronids and bryozoans, and were extremely abundant throughout the Paleozoic Era.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.