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Glite Dictionary
sea lily

sea lily

9.7
An animal with a stalk and feathery arms that lives attached to the sea floor
  • noun
  • /siː ˈlɪli/
  • Specialized
translation icon : lirio de mar
  • Fossils of the sea lily reveal intricate feathery arms once anchored to the ancient seabed.

Examples

  • A sea lily can be found in deep ocean waters.

  • The sea lily waves its arms gently to capture plankton from the surrounding water.

  • Despite its name, the sea lily is an animal, not a plant, related to starfish and sea urchins.

  • Many sea lilies thrive in shallow coral reefs.

  • The sea lily swayed gently in the current, its feathery arms capturing tiny particles of food.

  • While diving, we spotted a vibrant sea lily nestled among the rocks, showcasing its delicate structure.

  • The biologist explained how the sea lily attaches itself to the ocean floor and uses its arms for feeding.

Synonyms

crinoid
vssea lily
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A sea animal with a central body and feathery arms used to catch food

is the stalked, sea-floor-attached type rather than including unstalked forms

Surface Forms

sea lily singular
sea lilies plural

Morphology

sea + lily

The compound 'sea' + 'lily' transparently signals a lily-like thing found in the sea, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it is a sea organism or object with a flower-like appearance. However, the specific biological nature (that it is a stalked marine animal/crinoid attached to the sea floor rather than a plant) is not predictable from the constituents alone, making some key details unpredictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Sea lily gets its name from the way it looks: a long stalk with feathery arms that spread like a lily flower on the sea floor. So, even though it looks like a 'plant', the sea lily is actually an 'animal' that stays attached and uses its arms to catch tiny food.