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turbellarian

[tur-buh-lair-ee-uh n]
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adjective
  1. belonging to the Turbellaria, a class of platyhelminths or flatworms, mostly aquatic and having cilia on the body surface.
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noun
  1. a turbellarian platyhelminth.
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Origin of turbellarian

1875–80; < New Latin Turbellari(a) (Latin turbell(ae) a stir, row (plural diminutive of turba turmoil) + -āria, neuter plural of -ārius -ary) + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for turbellarian

Historical Examples

  • The third stage in our ancestral series is the turbellarian.

    The Whence and the Whither of Man

    John Mason Tyler

  • According to Spengel it resembles at this time in its form and habits a rhabdocœlous Turbellarian.

  • Between the turbellarian and the annelid many aberrant lines diverged.

  • Now the turbellarian is small and sluggish, with a fair digestive system.

British Dictionary definitions for turbellarian

turbellarian

noun
  1. any typically aquatic free-living flatworm of the class Turbellaria, having a ciliated epidermis and a simple life cycle: includes the planarians
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adjective
  1. of, relating to, or belonging to the class Turbellaria
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Word Origin

C19: from New Latin Turbellāria, from Latin turbellae (pl) bustle, from turba brawl, referring to the swirling motion created in the water
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