Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

chordate

[kawr-deyt]Zoology
adjective
  1. belonging or pertaining to the phylum Chordata, comprising the true vertebrates and those animals having a notochord, as the lancelets and tunicates.
Show More
noun
  1. a chordate animal.
Show More

Origin of chordate

First recorded in 1885–90; see origin at Chordata
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for chordates

Historical Examples

  • A larger portion of the guide is given to the chordates than is usually the case.

    A Guide for the Study of Animals

    Worrallo Whitney

British Dictionary definitions for chordates

chordate

noun
  1. any animal of the phylum Chordata, including the vertebrates and protochordates, characterized by a notochord, dorsal tubular nerve cord, and pharyngeal gill slits
Show More
adjective
  1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Chordata
Show More

Word Origin

C19: from Medieval Latin chordata; see chord 1 + -ate 1
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 chordates

chordate

1885, noun and adjective, from Chordata.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
chordates in Medicine

chordate

(kôr′dāt′, -dĭt)
n.
  1. An animal of the phylum Chordata, which includes all vertebrates.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
chordates in Science

chordate

[kôr′dāt′]
  1. Any of a large group of animals of the phylum Chordata, having at some stage of development a notochord (flexible spinal column) and nerve cord running along the back, a tail stretching above and behind the anus, and gill slits. Chordates probably evolved before the Cambrian Period and are related to the hemichordates, echinoderms, and chaetognaths. The vertebrates, tunicates, and cephalochordates are the three main groups of chordates.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
chordates in Culture

chordates

[(kawr-dayts, kawr-duhts)]

Animals that have a central nerve like the human spinal cord.

Show More

Note

Chordates make up a phylum in the animal kingdom that includes all the vertebrates, along with some primitive wormlike sea animals. (See Linnean classification.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.