octopus

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“
The authors hypothesize that this pattern of beahviour and colour change in the octopus is a form of mimicry that renders it inconspicuous to visually-oriented predators.

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Definitions (5)

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  1. noun Any of numerous carnivorous marine mollusks of the genus Octopus or related genera, found worldwide. The octopus has a rounded soft body, eight tentacles with each bearing two rows of suckers, a large distinct head, and a strong beaklike mouth. Also called devilfish.
  2. noun Something, such as a multinational corporation, that has many powerful, centrally controlled branches.

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Examples (50)

  • We looked at the octopus, which is related to the cuttlefish and moves in a similar way. —  GUDMagazineIssue1::Autumn2007
  • The authors hypothesize that this pattern of beahviour and colour change in the octopus is a form of mimicry that renders it inconspicuous to visually-oriented predators. —  Practical Fishkeeping news (RSS)
  • A major article in Harper's magazine in 1928 described college football as a "first-class octopus which is strangling many of the legitimate concerns of [our] educational institution [s]." —  The Lantern
  • If they were as many armed as Briareus or the octopus, their charity would be known to each and every hand on their arms. —  Visionaries
  • [310 That the octopus was actually identified with the Great Mother and also with the dragon is revealed by the fact of the latter assuming an octopus-form in Eastern Asia and Oceania, and by the occurrence of octopus-motifs in the representation of the goddess in America. —  The Evolution of the Dragon
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Words tagged octopus

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Etymologies (1)

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  1. New Latin Octōpūs, genus name, from Greek oktōpous, eight-footed : oktō, eight; see oktō(u) in Indo-European roots + pous, foot; see ped- in Indo-European roots.
 

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