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arthropod

arthropod

4 7.0
An animal without a backbone that has jointed legs and a hard shell like insects or crabs
  • noun
  • /ˈɑrθrəˌpɒd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : artrópodo
  • Many arthropods, like crabs and spiders, have a hard outer shell called an exoskeleton.
  • arthropods and vertebrates
  • other arthropods
  • arthropods, such as insects

What about the fact that we see learning and memory and pain like phenomena in in various arthropods?

Examples

  • As we watched, cockroaches, earwigs, isopods, and other small arthropods ran to escape the advancing waves of ants.

    Academic text (2003)
  • In addition to greatly reducing populations of arthropods, the fire ant has harmed other groups of animals.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Time is not on the side of arthropod survivors in the Florida scrub

    Academic text (1993)
  • His research interests include biology and control of arthropod vector-borne diseases of animals and humans.

    Academic text (2013)
  • There's one group of arthropods, the insects, that really rule the land.

  • Fiddler crabs, like their arthropod cousins, the insects, have compound eyes.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Many species of arthropods move among habitats in landscapes composed of a mixture of agricultural lands and forests.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Thus, burrowing scrub arthropods tend to be heavily armored and are often hairy as well.

    Academic text (1993)
  • "Arboviruses are viruses that can infect both animals and arthropods, such as mosquitoes or ticks," he explains.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Pesticides easily find their way into soils, where they may be toxic to arthropods, earthworms, fungi, bacteria, and protozoa.

    Academic text (1992)

Surface Forms

arthropod singular
arthropods plural

Morphology

arthropod = arthro- + -pod (opaque) = arthro + pod

Built from Greek combining forms ('arthro-' + '-pod') that are not productive standalone English words, so an average B1 learner will not reliably derive the meaning from familiar English bases.

Etymology

Arthropod comes from Greek parts arthro- 'joint' and -pod 'foot', so it literally means 'jointed foot'. Think of arthritis for arthro- and tripod for -pod, which shows why an arthropod has jointed legs and a hard outer shell.