Colpoda

noun

Col·​po·​da
kälˈpōdə
: a genus (the type of the family Colpodidae) of small flattened reniform holotrichous freshwater ciliates

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, feminine noun based on Greek kolpṓdēs "enclosing, embayed, sinuous," from kólpos "bosom, lap, fold in a garment, womb" + -ōdēs "like, having the nature of"

Note: Genus name introduced by the Danish naturalist Otto Friedrich Müller (1730-84) in Vermium terrestrium et fluviatilium, seu, Animalium infusoriorum, helminthicorum et testaceorum … succincta historia, vol. 1, part 1 (Copenhagen & Leipzig, 1773), p. 58. See note at Colpidium .

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Cite this Entry

“Colpoda.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Colpoda. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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