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).

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for squid

Contemporary Examples of squid

For seafood try Clamman in Southhampton, proudly peddling tuna, bass, scallops, and squid all caught by local fishermen.
The Hamptons Hot List: Where to Eat, What to Drink, and How to Get Your Beach on This Summer
Brandon Presser
May 24, 2014
This bruschetta, topped with squid, tangy goat cheese, fragrant mint, and sweet roasted garlic, is a meal on toast.
What to Eat: Crostini and Bruschetta
Cookstr.com
June 10, 2010

Historical Examples of squid

Aboard the Charming Lass the squid “jigging” went on for a couple of hours.
The Harbor of Doubt
Frank Williams
The squid is a very small edition of the giant devilfish or octopus.
The Harbor of Doubt
Frank Williams
Only a salmon or a squid could have been the teachers of that wondrous learning!
Mayflower (Flor de mayo)
Vicente Blasco Ibez
But squid, squid, everywhere, the most valuable prey of all!
Mayflower (Flor de mayo)
Vicente Blasco Ibez
They were waked out of their bunks one black night by yells of "Squid O!"
"Captains Courageous"
Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for squid

squid

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

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

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