SERPULA

Etymology

Noun

serpula (plural serpulas or serpulae)

(zoology) Any of numerous species of tubicolous annelids of the genus Serpula and allied genera of the family Serpulidae that secrete a calcareous tube, usually irregularly contorted, but sometimes spirally coiled, with a wreath of plumelike and often bright-colored gills around its head, and usually an operculum to close the aperture of its tube when it retracts.

Anagrams

• epurals, perusal

Source: Wiktionary


Ser"pu*la, n.; pl. Serpulæ, E. Serpulas. Etym: [L., a little snake. See Serpent.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: Any one of numerous species of tubicolous annelids of the genus Serpula and allied genera of the family Serpulidæ. They secrete a calcareous tube, which is usually irregularly contorted, but is sometimes spirally coiled. The worm has a wreath of plumelike and often bright-colored gills around its head, and usually an operculum to close the aperture of its tube when it retracts.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 February 2025

BARGAIN

(noun) an advantageous purchase; “she got a bargain at the auction”; “the stock was a real buy at that price”


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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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