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

spiroid, spirometer, spironolactone, spiroplasma, spirt, spirula, spirulina, spiruroid, spiruroidea, spiry, spissatus

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