spirula

[spir-yuh-luh, -oo-luh]

noun, plural spir·u·lae

[spir-yuh-lee, -oo-lee] /ˈspɪr yəˌli, -ʊˌli/.

any cephalopod of the genus Spirula, having a flat, spiral shell that is partly inside and partly outside the posterior part of the body.

Origin of spirula

1825–35; < New Latin; Late Latin spīrula twisted cake. See spira, -ule

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for spirula

Historical Examples of spirula

The latter is partly straight and partly convoluted, nearly as in Spirula.
A Manual of Elementary Geology
Charles Lyell.
They originate at the aboral extremity where they remain in Spirula (fig. 18).
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6
Various
A series of Chambers joining each other, as in Nautilus, Spirula, &c.
A Conchological Manual
George Brettingham Sowerby
The E. spirula of certain Brazilian monkeys and of the Barbary ape bears a strong resemblance to the species from the hog.
Parasites
T. Spencer Cobbold
After a gale, on looking amongst the wrack cast up by the highest waves, large numbers of our Spirula will be found.
Beautiful Shells of New Zealand
E. G. B. Moss

British Dictionary definitions for spirula

spirula

noun

a tropical cephalopod mollusc, Spirula peronii, having prominent eyes, short arms, and a small flattened spirally coiled internal shell: order Decapoda (cuttlefish and squids)

Word Origin for spirula

C19: via New Latin from Late Latin: a small twisted cake, from Latin spīra a coil

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