Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of numerous marine, freshwater, and terrestrial crustaceans of the order Isopoda, characterized by a flattened segmented body usually bearing seven pairs of legs and including the woodlice and gribbles.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having the feet all alike, or similar in character; specifically, pertaining to the Isopoda or having their characters. Also isopodous.
  • noun An isopod crustacean; any one of the Isopoda.
  • noun Also isopodan, isopode.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective (Zoöl.) Having the legs similar in structure; belonging to the Isopoda.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of very many crustaceans, of the order Isopoda, that have a flattened body, and no carapace

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any of various small terrestrial or aquatic crustaceans with seven pairs of legs adapted for crawling

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From New Latin Īsopoda, order name : iso– + New Latin -poda, -pod.]

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Examples

  • Ever since I saw the picture of the giant isopod brought up the the submarine crew last week, I was fascinated by this creature, which amounts to a deep water-dwelling pillbug.

    April 2010 2010

  • The sound of “sessile eye of the isopod” is so hissingly sussurant.

    BOOK VIEW CAFE BLOG » The Sessile Eye of the Isopod: Getting Ideas 2010

  • Ever since I saw the picture of the giant isopod brought up the the submarine crew last week, I was fascinated by this creature, which amounts to a deep water-dwelling pillbug.

    BOOK VIEW CAFE BLOG » The Sessile Eye of the Isopod: Getting Ideas 2010

  • It is the isopod, Bathynomus giganteus, a scavenger of dead and rotten flesh on the mud floor of the gulf.

    Gulf oil spill imperils Justin Bieber 2010

  • According to an article from Fox News, the Bathynomus giganteus henceforth known as "Bart" is a type of giant isopod, "a large crustacean that dwells in deep Atlantic and Pacific waters."

    Yet Another Monster From The Deep 2010

  • According to an article from Fox News, the Bathynomus giganteus henceforth known as "Bart" is a type of giant isopod, "a large crustacean that dwells in deep Atlantic and Pacific waters."

    Archive 2010-04-01 2010

  • As part of the ANDEEP (Antarctic Benthic Deep-Sea Biodiversity) Project, scientists “spotted 674 species of isopod (a diverse order of crustaceans), most of which had never previously been described; more than 200 polychaete species (marine worms), 81 of which were found to be new species; and 76 sponges, 17 of which had previously been unknown.”

    Airborne-Diving in the Southern Ocean 2007

  • Response to an avian predator and its isopod prey to an acanthocephalan parasite.

    Parasite Rex Carl Zimmer 2009

  • Response to an avian predator and its isopod prey to an acanthocephalan parasite.

    Parasite Rex Carl Zimmer 2009

  • As part of the ANDEEP (Antarctic Benthic Deep-Sea Biodiversity) Project, scientists “spotted 674 species of isopod (a diverse order of crustaceans), most of which had never previously been described; more than 200 polychaete species (marine worms), 81 of which were found to be new species; and 76 sponges, 17 of which had previously been unknown.”

    Archive 2007-05-01 2007

Comments

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  • these little guys rock!

    April 13, 2009