polyp

[ pol-ip ]

/ ˈpɒl ɪp /

noun

Zoology.

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.
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.

Nearby words

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)

Related formspol·yp·ous, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for polyps

Follow-up colonoscopies three years hence determined the presence or absence of polyps.
Can Taking Aspirin Once a Day Reduce Risk of Cancer, Stroke, and More?|Anneli Rufus|March 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Known as polyps or adenomas, benign tumors in the colon have the potential to become cancerous.
Can Taking Aspirin Once a Day Reduce Risk of Cancer, Stroke, and More?|Anneli Rufus|March 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Most of the polyps form stocks (cormi), the individuals shooting out buds which remain joined to the mother animal.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel
Finally, but very rarely, polyps are found uniting both sexes.
The Ocean World:|Louis Figuier

The body of the cuttle-fish (Sepia) is thus a very singular structure, somewhat reminding us of certain species of polyps.
The Ocean World:|Louis Figuier
We find also among Star-fishes the same tendency to multiplication of parts so common among the Polyps and Acalephs.
Seaside Studies in Natural History|Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz
On Sertularia argentea, it is asserted, polyps are found on which there exist not less than eighty to a hundred thousand.
The Ocean World:|Louis Figuier

British Dictionary definitions for polyps

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 Formspolypous, 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

Word Origin and History for polyps

polyp

c.1400, "nasal tumor," from Middle French polype and directly from Latin polypus "cuttlefish," also "nasal tumor," from Greek (Doric, Aeolic) polypos "octopus, cuttlefish," from polys "many" (see poly-) + pous "foot" (see foot (n.)). Etymological sense revived 1742 as a name for hydras and sea anemones (earlier polypus, early 16c.). The Latin word is the source of French poulpe "octopus."

Medicine definitions for polyps

polyp

[ pŏl′ĭp ]

n.

A usually nonmalignant growth of tissue protruding from the mucous lining of an organ such as the nose, bladder, or intestine, often causing obstruction.polypus

Related formspol′yp•oid′ adj.

Science definitions for polyps

polyp

[ pŏl′ĭp ]

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.