chordate

[ kawr-deyt ]

/ ˈkɔr deɪt /

Zoology

adjective

belonging or pertaining to the phylum Chordata, comprising the true vertebrates and those animals having a notochord, as the lancelets and tunicates.

noun

a chordate animal.

Nearby words

chorda, chorda tendinea, chordal, chordamesoderm, chordata, chordate, chordates, chordee, chording, chorditis, chordo-

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for chordates

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

/ (ˈkɔːˌdeɪt) /

noun

any animal of the phylum Chordata, including the vertebrates and protochordates, characterized by a notochord, dorsal tubular nerve cord, and pharyngeal gill slits

adjective

of, relating to, or belonging to the Chordata

Word Origin for chordate

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.

Medicine definitions for chordates

chordate

[ kôr′dāt′, -dĭt ]

n.

An animal of the phylum Chordata, which includes all vertebrates.

Science definitions for chordates

chordate

[ kôr′dāt′ ]

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.

Culture definitions for chordates

chordates

[ (kawr-dayts, kawr-duhts) ]

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

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.)