lamprey, lamprey eel, lamper eel
(noun) primitive eellike freshwater or anadromous cyclostome having round sucking mouth with a rasping tongue
Source: WordNet® 3.1
lamprey (countable and uncountable, plural lampreys)
Any long slender primitive eel-like freshwater and saltwater fish of the order Petromyzontiformes, having a sucking mouth with rasping teeth but no jaw.
• Parmley, palmery
Source: Wiktionary
Lam"prey, n. ; pl. Lampreys. Etym: [OE. lampreie, F. lamproie, LL. lampreda, lampetra, from L. lambere to lick + petra rock, stone. The lampreys are so called because they attach themselves with their circular mouths to rocks and stones, whence they are also called rocksuckers. See Lap to drink, Petrify.] (Zoöl.)
Definition: An eel-like marsipobranch of the genus Petromyzon, and allied genera. The lampreys have a round, sucking mouth, without jaws, but set with numerous minute teeth, and one to three larger teeth on the palate (see Illust. of Cyclostomi). There are seven small branchial openings on each side. [Written also lamper eel, lamprel, and lampron.]
Note: The common or sea lamprey of America and Europe (Petromyzon marinus), which in spring ascends rivers to spawn, is considered excellent food by many, and is sold as a market fish in some localities. The smaller river lampreys mostly belong to the genus Ammocoeles, or Lampetra, as A. fluviatilis, of Europe, and A. æpypterus of America. All lampreys attach themselves to other fishes, as parasites, by means of the suckerlike mouth.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
23 November 2024
(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”
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