wentletrap

[wen-tl-trap]

noun

any of several marine gastropods of the family Epitonii (Scalariidae), having a whitish, spiraled shell.

Origin of wentletrap

1750–60; < Dutch wenteltrap, earlier wendeltrap spiral staircase, equivalent to wend(en) to turn + frequentative -el- (compare wentelen to revolve) + trap trap¹)

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British Dictionary definitions for wentletrap

wentletrap

noun

any marine gastropod mollusc of the family Epitoniidae, having a long pointed pale-coloured longitudinally ridged shell

Word Origin for wentletrap

C18: from Dutch winteltrap spiral shell, from wintel, earlier windel, from wenden to wind + trap a step, stairs

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