zoea

[ zoh-ee-uh ]

/ zoʊˈi ə /

noun, plural zo·e·ae [zoh-ee-ee] /zoʊˈi i/, zo·e·as. Zoology.

any of the free-swimming larva of certain crustaceans, as the crab, having rudimentary legs and a spiny carapace.

Nearby words

zodiac, zodiacal, zodiacal constellation, zodiacal light, zoe, zoea, zoetrope, zoffany, zoftig, zog, zog i

Origin of zoea

1820–30; < New Latin, equivalent to Greek zō(ḗ) life + New Latin -ea -ea

Related forms

zo·e·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for zoea

With crowds of its brothers and sisters, the zoea kicks about on the surface of the sea.
On the Seashore|R. Cadwallader Smith
The maggot is the larva of the fly, and the zoea is the larva of the Crab.
On the Seashore|R. Cadwallader Smith
You ask about the skipping of the Zoea stage in fresh-water decapods: is this an illustration of acceleration?
More Letters of Charles Darwin|Charles Darwin
It was called a zoea; but you can call it a Crab caterpillar or larva.
On the Seashore|R. Cadwallader Smith

As an illustration of this metamorphosis, we give figures of the Zoea Taurus in two states, viz., Fig.
The Ocean World:|Louis Figuier

British Dictionary definitions for zoea

zoea

zoaea

/ (zəʊˈiːə) /

noun plural zoeae or zoaeae (zəʊˈiːiː) or zoeas or zoaeas

the free-swimming larva of a crab or related crustacean, which has well-developed abdominal appendages and may bear one or more spines

Word Origin for zoea

C20: New Latin, from Greek zōē life

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