polyp

[ pol-ip ]

noun

1. Zoology.
   1. a sedentary type of animal form characterized by a more or less fixed base, columnar body, and free end with mouth and tentacles, especially as applied to coelenterates.
   2. an individual zooid of a compound or colonial organism.
2. Pathology. a projecting growth from a mucous surface, as of the nose, being either a tumor or a hypertrophy of the mucous membrane.

polyp

/ ˈpɒlɪp /

noun

1. See medusa
   zoology one of the two forms of individual that occur in coelenterates. It usually has a hollow cylindrical body with a ring of tentacles around the mouth Compare medusa
2. Also calledpolypus pathol a small vascularized growth arising from the surface of a mucous membrane, having a rounded base or a stalklike projection

polyp

/ pŏl′ĭp /

1. A cnidarian in its sedentary stage. Polyps have hollow, tube-shaped bodies with a central mouth on top surrounded by tentacles. Some cnidarians, such as corals and sea anemones, only exist as polyps after their larval stage, while others turn into medusas as adults or lack a polyp stage completely.
2. Compare medusa
3. An abnormal growth extending from a mucous membrane, as of the intestine.

Derived Forms

• ˈpolypous, adjective

Other Words From

• polyp·ous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of polyp¹

1350–1400; Middle English polip, short for polipus nasal tumor (later, also cephalopod, now obsolete) < Medieval Latin, Latin pōlypus < dialectal Greek poulýpous octopus, nasal tumor ( Attic polýpous, genitive polýpodos; poly-, -pod )

Word History and Origins

Origin of polyp¹

C16 polip, from French polype nasal polyp, from Latin pōlypus sea animal, nasal polyp, from Greek polupous having many feet

Example Sentences

During a colonoscopy, a physician looks for and removes polyps, growths of tissue that can become cancerous.

From Science News

Algae living inside the polyp appear orange or pink, while the coral’s tissues shine blue.

From Science News

Center stage are the photosynthetic algae that harness the power of the sun, providing energy to their animal host, the coral polyp.

From Science News

Under heat stress, corals’ algae spew toxic chemicals, prompting polyps to kick them out.

From Science News

No one really understood why bleaching occurred, only that if a coral polyp remained without its algae for too long, it could starve and die.

From Nautilus

Qatar is just a little spit of land that looks like a polyp on edge of Saudi Arabia.

From The Daily Beast

Coastal construction gives them more places for their polyp stages to colonize.

From The Daily Beast

A pedantic and self-important “paper architect,” Polyp goes into crisis when his marriage dissolves.

From The Daily Beast

Polyp hops a Greyhound bus and lands in a small rural town, where he talks his way into a job as a car mechanic.

From The Daily Beast

It is in the most beautiful azure depths of the limpid water that this hideous, voracious polyp delights.

From Project Gutenberg

Thus a polyp, if hard put to it, may shift what little brain and stomach happen to be in his possession.

From Project Gutenberg

Each several coral-individual is equivalent to a single living polyp (actinia).

From Project Gutenberg

The corallite is composed of carbonate of lime secreted by the polyp, and, broadly speaking, may be called a skeleton.

From Project Gutenberg

The polyp on the upper end continues to live and rises above the excess of solid matter.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• tumor