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polyp

[ pol-ip ]
/ ˈpɒl ɪp /
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noun
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.
Pathology. a projecting growth from a mucous surface, as of the nose, being either a tumor or a hypertrophy of the mucous membrane.
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Origin of polyp

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;see poly-, -pod)

OTHER WORDS FROM polyp

pol·yp·ous, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use polyp in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for polyp

polyp
/ (ˈpɒlɪp) /

noun
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 mouthCompare medusa (def. 2)
Also called: polypus pathol a small vascularized growth arising from the surface of a mucous membrane, having a rounded base or a stalklike projection

Derived forms of polyp

polypous, adjective

Word Origin for polyp

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

Scientific definitions for polyp

polyp
[ pŏlĭp ]

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. Compare medusa.
An abnormal growth extending from a mucous membrane, as of the intestine.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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