NOCTILUCA

noctiluca, Noctiluca miliaris

(noun) large bioluminescent marine protozoan

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

noctiluca (countable and uncountable, plural noctilucae or noctilucas)

(obsolete) A firefly, glowworm.

(obsolete) The moon

(obsolete) A phosphorescent substance

Alternative letter-case form of mul (“Noctiluca”)

Anagrams

• ciclatoun

Source: Wiktionary


Noc`ti*lu"ca, n.; pl. NoctilucÆ. Etym: [L. noctiluca something that shines by night, fr. nox, noctis, night + lucere to shine, lux light.]

1. (Old Chem.)

Definition: That which shines at night; -- a fanciful name for phosphorus.

2. (Zoöl.)

Definition: A genus of marine flagellate Infusoria, remarkable for their unusually large size and complex structure, as well as for their phosphorescence. The brilliant diffuse phosphorescence of the sea is often due to myriads of Noctilucæ.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

7 June 2025

PARSEC

(noun) a unit of astronomical length based on the distance from Earth at which stellar parallax is 1 second of arc; equivalent to 3.262 light years


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