spirula

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

/ ˈspɪr yə lə, -ʊ lə /

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.

Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for spirula

A series of Chambers joining each other, as in Nautilus, Spirula, &c.
A Conchological Manual|George Brettingham Sowerby
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
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

A mollusk whose shell is cast upon the shore by thousands, but the animal of which is very rare, is the Spirula.
Birds and Nature Vol. 9 No. 5 [May 1901]|Various

British Dictionary definitions for spirula

spirula

/ (ˈspaɪrʊlə) /

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