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ganoid

[gan-oid]
adjective
  1. of or relating to the Ganoidei, a group of mostly extinct fishes characterized by hard, bony scales, the living species of which include the paddlefishes, sturgeons, and gars.
  2. (of the scale of a fish) having a smooth, shiny surface of ganoin or a similar substance.
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noun
  1. a ganoid fish.
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Origin of ganoid

1830–40; < French ganoïde < Greek gán(os) brightness + -oïde -oid
Related formssub·gan·oid, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ganoid

Historical Examples

  • There are seven living kinds of ganoid fish and all are found in fresh water.

    Fast Nine

    Alan Douglas

  • This preservation of ancient forms in islands appears to me like the preservation of ganoid fishes in our present freshwaters.

  • Another American ganoid is Amia calva, the dog-fish or bow-fin, which is very numerous in Western rivers.

  • The distinctions between cycloid and ctenoid scales, between placoid and ganoid fishes, are vague, and can hardly be maintained.

  • Dura Den, a glen near Cupar-Fife, famous for the number of ganoid fossil fishes entombed in its sandstone.

    The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

    Edited by Rev. James Wood

British Dictionary definitions for ganoid

ganoid

adjective
  1. (of the scales of certain fishes) consisting of an inner bony layer and an outer layer of an enamel-like substance (ganoin)
  2. denoting fishes, including the sturgeon and bowfin, having such scales
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noun
  1. a ganoid fish
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Word Origin

C19: from French ganoïde, from Greek ganos brightness + -oid
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