NAUTILUS

nautilus, nuclear submarine, nuclear-powered submarine

(noun) a submarine that is propelled by nuclear power

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

nautilus (plural nautiluses or nautili)

A marine mollusc, of the family Nautilidae native to the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean, which has tentacles and a spiral shell with a series of air-filled chambers, of which Nautilus is the type genus.

A kind of diving bell that sinks or rises by means of compressed air.

Synonyms

• chambered nautilus

Source: Wiktionary


Nau"ti*lus, n.; pl. E. Nautiluses, L. Nautili. Etym: [L., fr. gr. Nave of a church.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Definition: The only existing genus of tetrabranchiate cephalopods. About four species are found living in the tropical Pacific, but many other species are found fossil. The shell is spiral, symmetrical, and chambered, or divided into several cavities by simple curved partitions, which are traversed and connected together by a continuous and nearly central tube or siphuncle. See Tetrabranchiata.

Note: The head of the animal bears numerous simple tapered arms, or tentacles, arranged in groups, but not furnished with suckers. The siphon, unlike, that of ordinary cephalopods, is not a closed tube, and is not used as a locomotive organ, but merely serves to conduct water to and from the gill cavity, which contains two pairs of gills. The animal occupies only the outer chamber of the shell; the others are filled with gas. It creeps over the bottom of the sea, not coming to the surface to swim or sail, as was formerly imagined.

2. The argonaut; -- also called paper nautilus. See Argonauta, and Paper nautilus, under Paper.

3. A variety of diving bell, the lateral as well as vertical motions of which are controlled, by the occupants.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

24 April 2025

LININ

(noun) an obsolete term for the network of viscous material in the cell nucleus on which the chromatin granules were thought to be suspended


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