radial symmetry
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noun Biology.
a basic body plan in which the organism can be divided into similar halves by passing a plane at any angle along a central axis, characteristic of sessile and bottom-dwelling animals, as the sea anemone and starfish.
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Let’s start with some etymology: What are the origins of the typographical word “bracket”?
First appeared around 1750, and is related to the French word “braguette” for the name of codpiece armor.
First appeared in 1610, based on the French word “baguette” for the long loaf of bread.
First appeared in 1555, and is related to the French word “raquette” for a netted bat.
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Compare bilateral symmetry.
Origin of radial symmetry
First recorded in 1885–90
Words nearby radial symmetry
radial motion, radial nerve, radial paralysis, radial-ply, radial saw, radial symmetry, radial tire, radial triangulation, radial tyre, radial vein, radial velocity
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for radial symmetry
British Dictionary definitions for radial symmetry
radial symmetry
noun
a type of structure of an organism or part of an organism in which a vertical cut through the axis in any of two or more planes produces two halves that are mirror images of each otherCompare bilateral symmetry
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 radial symmetry
radial symmetry
Symmetrical arrangement of parts of an organism around a single main axis, so that the organism can be divided into similar halves by any plane that contains the main axis. The body plans of echinoderms, ctenophores, cnidarians, and many sponges and sea anemones show radial symmetry. Compare bilateral symmetry.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.