cercaria

[ ser-kair-ee-uh ]

/ sərˈkɛər i ə /

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noun, plural cer·car·i·ae

[ser-kair-ee-ee]. /sərˈkɛər iˌi/. Zoology.

the disk-shaped larva of flukes of the class Trematoda, having a taillike appendage.

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Origin of cercaria

1830–40; <New Latin, equivalent to cerc- (<Greek kérkos tail) + -āria-aria

OTHER WORDS FROM cercaria

cer·car·i·al, adjectivecer·car·i·an, adjective, nounpseu·do·cer·car·i·a, noun, plural pseu·do·cer·car·i·ae.

Words nearby cercaria

Ceratophyllus, ceratopsian, ceratosaur, Cerberus, cercal, cercaria, cercis, cerclage, cercocystis, cercopithecoid, cercus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use cercaria in a sentence

By drinking the water which contains the cercaria of this species, they grow infested by this singular lodger.
Animal Parasites and Messmates|P. J. Van Beneden
Claparde has also observed another free cercaria which bears the name of Pachycerca.
Animal Parasites and Messmates|P. J. Van Beneden
The Cercaria setifera of J. Mller has been found free and attached to the lower surface of some medus.
Animal Parasites and Messmates|P. J. Van Beneden
It is always of a deep colour, and is doubtless introduced in the state of cercaria, when the animal is drinking.
Animal Parasites and Messmates|P. J. Van Beneden

There are some grounds for comparing the scolex to the Cercaria of Trematodes, cf. Archigetes.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume II (of 4)|Francis Maitland Balfour

British Dictionary definitions for cercaria

cercaria

/ (səˈkɛərɪə) /

noun plural -iae (-ɪˌiː)

one of the larval forms of trematode worms. It has a short forked tail and resembles an immature adult

Derived forms of cercaria

cercarial, adjectivecercarian, adjective, noun

Word Origin for cercaria

C19: New Latin, literally: tailed creature, from Greek kerkos tail

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

Medical definitions for cercaria

cercaria

[ sər-kâr′ē-ə ]

n. pl. cer•car•i•as

The parasitic larva of a trematode worm, having a tail that disappears in the adult stage.