pteropod

American

[ter-uh-pod] / ˈtɛr əˌpɒd /

adjective

belonging or pertaining to the Pteropoda, a group of mollusks having the lateral portions of the foot expanded into winglike lobes used in swimming.

noun

a pteropod mollusk.

pteropod British

/ ˈtɛrəˌpɒd /

noun

Also called: sea butterfly. any small marine gastropod mollusc of the group or order Pteropoda, in which the foot is expanded into two winglike lobes for swimming and the shell is absent or thin-walled

"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

Etymology

Origin of pteropod

1825–35; < New Latin Pteropoda (plural); see ptero-, -pod

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023