tunicate

American  

[too-ni-kit, -keyt, tyoo-] / ˈtu nɪ kɪt, -ˌkeɪt, ˈtju- /

noun

1. Zoology. any sessile marine chordate of the subphylum Tunicata (Urochordata), having a saclike body enclosed in a thick membrane or tunic and two openings or siphons for the ingress and egress of water.

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adjective

1. (especially of the Tunicata) having a tunic or covering.

2. of or relating to the tunicates.

3. Botany. having or consisting of a series of concentric layers, as a bulb.

tunicate British  

/ -ˌkeɪt, ˈtjuːnɪkɪt /

noun

1. any minute primitive marine chordate animal of the subphylum Tunicata (or Urochordata, Urochorda ). The adults have a saclike unsegmented body enclosed in a cellulose-like outer covering (tunic) and only the larval forms have a notochord: includes the sea squirts See also ascidian

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the subphylum Tunicata

2. (esp of a bulb) having or consisting of concentric layers of tissue

tunicate Scientific  

/ to̅o̅′nĭ-kĭt /

1. Any of various primitive marine chordate animals of the subphylum Tunicata, having a rounded or cylindrical body that is enclosed in a tough outer covering. Tunicates start out life as free-swimming, tadpolelike animals with a notochord (a primitive backbone), but many, such as the sea squirts, lose the notochord and most of their nervous system as adults and become fixed to rocks or other objects. Tunicates often form colonies.

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Etymology

Origin of tunicate

First recorded in 1615–25, tunicate is from the Latin word tunicātus wearing a tunic. See tunic, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tunicate

The team eventually settled on three possibilities: a soft species of coral, a sea sponge or a marine invertebrate called a tunicate.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 6, 2022

Another tunicate, Ecteinascidia turbinata, which attaches to submerged mangrove roots, yielded the molecular mixture that led to Yondelis, a sarcoma and ovarian cancer drug, and Zepzelca, which targets small-cell lung cancer.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 27, 2022

A synthetic version of a compound from the Caribbean tunicate Ecteinascidia turbinata is approved for treating some cancers.Credit:

From Nature ● Mar. 26, 2020

Illustration C shows an adult tunicate, which resembles a tree stump anchored to the bottom.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

The young tunicate is a free-swimming, active, tadpolelike, or fishlike creature, which possesses organs very like those of the adult of the simplest fishes or fishlike forms.

From Composition-Rhetoric by Brooks, Stratton D.