branchiopod

noun

bran·​chio·​pod ˈbraŋ-kē-ə-ˌpäd How to pronounce branchiopod (audio)
: any of a group (Branchiopoda) of small usually freshwater crustaceans (such as fairy shrimp or water fleas) with usually many pairs of setae-bearing appendages
branchiopod adjective

Examples of branchiopod in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
So there’s branchiopods, ostracods, copepods, cladocerans...and besides the crustaceans, there’s a lot more. Christopher Intagliata, Scientific American, 3 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French branchiopode or New Latin Branchiopoda, originally as a New Latin genus name, from Greek bránchia "gills" + -o- -o- + -poda, neuter plural (apparently taken as feminine singular) of -pous "having feet (of the kind indicated)," derivative of poús "foot" — more at branchial, foot entry 1

Note: As a taxon Branchiopoda was introduced first as a genus name (Branchiopoda stagnalis, now Tanymastix stagnalis) by Jean-Baptiste lamarck in Système des animaux sans vertèbres (Paris, An X—1801), p. 161. French Branchiopodes was used as an order name by Pierre André Latreille (1762-1833) in Georges cuvier, Le Règne animal distribué d'après son organisation, tome 3, Les crustacés, les arachnides et les insectes, par M. Latreille (Paris, 1817) p. 59.

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of branchiopod was in 1836

Dictionary Entries Near branchiopod

Cite this Entry

“Branchiopod.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/branchiopod. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

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