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Glite Dictionary
🪸 A sea lily 🌊 Related to sea lilies
crinoid

crinoid

1 9.9
A sea animal with a central body and feathery arms used to catch food
  • noun
  • /ˈkraɪnɔɪd/
  • Specialized
: crinoideo
  • Fossilized crinoids found in the rock layers illustrate the rich biodiversity of ancient oceans.

Examples

  • The mature crinoids artificially resemble flowers.

    Species: The Awakening (2007)

  • The scientist studied crinoids to understand their evolutionary history within marine ecosystems.

  • You know, theoretically, I could use the molecular genetic material... to create a whole new breed of crinoid.

    Species: The Awakening (2007)

  • Crinoids, a type of echinoderm.

    Species: The Awakening (2007)

  • Crinoids, also known as crinoids, have a unique appearance with their feathery arms extending from a central disk.

Synonyms

feather star
vscrinoid
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A sea animal with many feathery arms that can swim and lives on the sea floor

is the broader animal class covering both stalked and stalkless types
sea lily
vscrinoid
  • Specialized
1 9.7

An animal with a stalk and feathery arms that lives attached to the sea floor

is the broader animal class including both attached and free forms

Surface Forms

crinoid singular
crinoids plural

Morphology

crinoid = Crinoidea (opaque) = crino + oid

The noun uses the same technical combining form and suffix; the referent is a specific biological taxon, not derivable by general learners from component meanings.

Etymology

Crinoid comes from the Greek krinon 'lily' plus -oid 'like', so the word means 'lily-like'. That fits the animal sense because these sea creatures look like flowers and are often called 'sea lilies' because of their feathery arms.