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collembolan

[kuh-lem-buh-luh n]
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adjective
  1. Also col·lem·bo·lous. belonging or pertaining to the insect order Collembola, comprising the springtails.
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noun
  1. a collembolan insect; springtail.
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Origin of collembolan

1870; < New Latin Collembol(a) order name (equivalent to Greek kóll(a) glue + émbola, plural of émbolon wedge, stopper (see embolus); so named from the collophore) + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for collembolan

Historical Examples

  • Mr. Carpenter also tells me that the Collembolan, Isotoma littoralis, is a typical northern migrant.

    The History of the European Fauna

    R. F. Scharff

British Dictionary definitions for collembolan

collembolan

noun
  1. any small primitive wingless insect of the order Collembola, which comprises the springtails
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adjective
  1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Collembola
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Word Origin

C19: from New Latin Collembola, from Greek kolla glue + embolon peg, wedge
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