isopod

[ahy-suh-pod]

noun

any freshwater, marine, or terrestrial crustacean of the order or suborder Isopoda, having seven pairs of legs typically adapted for crawling, and a dorsoventrally flattened body, and including wood lice, several aquatic parasites of crabs and shrimps, and numerous swimming or bottom-dwelling species.

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of the Isopoda.

having the feet all alike, or similar in character.

Origin of isopod

From the New Latin word Isopoda, dating back to 1825–35. See iso-, -pod

Related formsi·sop·o·dan

[ahy-sop-uh-dn] /aɪˈsɒp ə dn/, adjective, nouni·sop·o·dous, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for isopod

Historical Examples of isopod

This parasite is an Isopod (Bopyrus), the appendages of which are imperfectly developed.
The Sea Shore
William S. Furneaux
The male of this isopod, which inhabits the bay of Christiansand, is not yet known.
Animal Parasites and Messmates
P. J. Van Beneden
This little crustacean is associated in its work on submerged timber with the isopod Limnoria lignorum.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide
Augusta Foote Arnold
He concludes that they were more like what one would expect in an isopod.
The Appendages, Anatomy, and Relationships of Trilobites
Percy Edward Raymond
In his first article he mistakes a species of the myriapod genus Glomeris for the isopod genus Armadillo.
Lamarck, the Founder of Evolution
Alpheus Spring Packard

British Dictionary definitions for isopod

isopod

noun

any crustacean of the order Isopoda, including woodlice and pill bugs, in which the body is flattened dorsoventrally

adjective

of, relating to, or belonging to the Isopoda

Derived Formsisopodan (aɪˈsɒpədən) or isopodous, adjective

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 isopod

1835, from French isopode, from Latin isopoda (neuter plural), from Greek iso- (see iso-) + pod-, stem of pous "foot" (see foot (n.)).

Science definitions for isopod

isopod

[ī′sə-pŏd′]

Any of numerous mostly small crustaceans of the order Isopoda, characterized by a flattened body usually bearing seven pairs of legs. Isopods include the sow bugs, pill bugs, and gribbles.