millipede

noun

mil·​li·​pede ˈmi-lə-ˌpēd 

: any of a class (Diplopoda) of myriapod arthropods having usually a cylindrical segmented body covered with hard integument, two pairs of legs on most apparent segments, and unlike centipedes no poison fangs

Did you know?

The earth is home to about 10,000 species of millipedes. Though they have no poison fangs, many of them can, when threatened, emit a liquid or gas poisonous to their enemies. If their structure were true to their name, millipedes would have a thousand legs, but in fact they have far fewer. Even so, a millipede in motion is a sight to ponder: How can it possibly coordinate all those legs so that it doesn't trip over itself? Like some tiny conga line or bunny hop, it scuttles away to a rhythm only it can hear.

Examples of millipede in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Share [Findings] A fungal parasite that afflicts the reproductive organs of millipedes was named in honor of Twitter. —Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 22 Nov. 2023

Kids can build block houses, send video postcards, climb a rock wall, and crawl through a human-sized ant hill while observing the museum’s collection of insects, millipedes and tarantulas included. —Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 27 Oct. 2023

Contrary to what their name suggests, most millipedes don’t actually have 1,000 legs. —Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 July 2023

The Los Angeles thread millipede — a tiny creature that’s been found crawling in some SoCal parks. —Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2023

The adult lays its eggs on the hosts, which include spiders, centipedes, millipedes, caterpillars and, sadly, also monarch caterpillars. —Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 July 2023

Important to note, however, is that paleontologist Michael Brookfield of the University of Texas and the University of Massachusetts Boston, who authored the study on the millipede, made sure to clarify that scientists believe soil worms came before this millipede despite a lack of fossil evidence. —Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 10 Aug. 2022

A number of land creatures make light from chemicals, including various fungi, earthworms, millipedes and fungus gnats, Lewis writes. —Madeline Bodin, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 May 2023

Clean up hiding places for slugs, sowbugs and millipedes. —oregonlive, 1 Apr. 2022

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Word History

Etymology

Latin millepeda, a small crawling animal, from mille thousand + ped-, pes foot — more at foot

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

millipede

noun

mil·​li·​pede ˈmil-ə-ˌpēd 

: any of a class of arthropods having a long segmented body with a hard covering, two pairs of legs on most segments, and unlike the related centipedes no poison fangs

Etymology

from Latin millepeda "a small crawling animal," literally "a thousand-footed animal," from mille "thousand" and ped-, pes "foot"

Medical Definition

millipede

noun

mil·​li·​pede ˈmil-ə-ˌpēd 

: any of a class (Diplopoda) of arthropods having usually a cylindrical segmented body, two pairs of legs on most segments, and including some forms that secrete toxic substances causing skin irritation but that unlike centipedes possess no poison fangs