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

3 July 2025

SENSE

(noun) the faculty through which the external world is apprehended; “in the dark he had to depend on touch and on his senses of smell and hearing”


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Coffee Trivia

In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.

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