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

8 November 2024

REPLACEMENT

(noun) the act of furnishing an equivalent person or thing in the place of another; “replacing the star will not be easy”


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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