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squid

[skwid]

noun, plural (especially collectively) squid, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) squids.

any of several ten-armed cephalopods, as of the genera Loligo and Ommastrephes, having a slender body and a pair of rounded or triangular caudal fins and varying in length from 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) to 60–80 feet (18–24 meters).

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Origin of squid

First recorded in 1605–15; origin uncertain

SQUID

[skwid]

noun

superconducting quantum interference device: a device that senses minute changes in magnetic fields, used to indicate neural activity in the brain.

Origin of SQUID

First recorded in 1965–70
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for squid

squid

1

noun plural squid or squids

any of various fast-moving pelagic cephalopod molluscs of the genera Loligo, Ommastrephes, etc, of most seas, having a torpedo-shaped body ranging from about 10 centimetres to 16.5 metres long and a pair of triangular tail fins: order Decapoda (decapods)See also cuttlefish

verb squids, squidding or squidded

(intr) (of a parachute) to assume an elongated squidlike shape owing to excess air pressure

Word Origin for squid

C17: of unknown origin

squid

2

noun

British slang a pound sterling

Word Origin for squid

C20: rhyming slang for quid

SQUID

abbreviation for

superconducting quantum interference device
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
Word Origin and History for squid
n.

marine mollusk, 1610s, of unknown origin; perhaps a sailors' variant of squirt, so called for the "ink" it squirts out.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper