branchia

[ brang-kee-uh ]

/ ˈbræŋ ki ə /

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noun, plural bran·chi·ae

[brang-kee-ee]. /ˈbræŋ kiˌi/. Zoology.

a gill.

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Origin of branchia

1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin branchia “gill” (plural branchiae ), from Greek: bránchia “gills,” plural of bránchion “fin”

Words nearby branchia

branch, branch cut, branched chain, branches of government, branchi-, branchia, branchial, branchial arch, branchial cleft, branchial groove, branchial pouch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use branchia in a sentence

Scutum and tergum articulated together, or overlapping each other; each branchia composed of a single plicated fold.
A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia (Volume 2 of 2)|Charles Darwin
In these there are neither branchia nor osphradium, and the pallial chamber which retains its large opening serves as a lung.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5|Various
Shell conical, not spiral; inferior pallial lobe transformed into a branchia.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5|Various
Visceral mass and shell sinistral; inferior pallial lobe very prominent, and transformed into a branchia.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5|Various

This has been called a branchial arm, not that it carried a branchia, but on account of its relation to the respiratory system.
The Appendages, Anatomy, and Relationships of Trilobites|Percy Edward Raymond

British Dictionary definitions for branchia

branchia

/ (ˈbræŋkɪə) /

noun plural -chiae (-kɪˌiː)

a gill in aquatic animals

Derived forms of branchia

branchiate, adjective

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