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Glite Dictionary
swimmeret

swimmeret

1 9.9
A small leg under the back of some water animals that helps them swim and hold eggs
  • noun
  • /ˈswɪmərɛt/
  • Specialized
: pleópodo
  • Crayfish propel themselves backward by flicking their swimmerets rapidly.

Examples

  • The female lobster uses each swimmeret to hold onto her developing eggs.

  • The swimmeret helps the shrimp swim efficiently.

  • Scientists observed how the movement of a swimmeret allows the shrimp to steer effectively in the water.

  • Many species of crabs have a pair of swimmerets.

  • The female crab used her swimmeret to carry her fertilized eggs safely.

  • During swimming, the shrimp moved quickly through the water using its swimmerets.

  • The biologist explained how the swimmerets help the lobster to swim and maintain balance.

Synonyms

pleopod
vsswimmeret
  • Specialized
9.9

Small limb under the body of animals like shrimp that they use to swim and hold eggs

is the everyday name used outside technical texts

Surface Forms

swimmeret singular
swimmerets plural

Morphology

swimmeret = swim (opaque) = swim + et

The suffix 'et' does not transparently convey the meaning of a small appendage for swimming, making the word less transparent.

Etymology

Swimmeret comes from swim + -er + -et, where -et means 'small', so it literally means a 'small swimmer'. That's why a swimmeret is a tiny, leg-like part under the belly of water animals like shrimp or lobsters that helps them swim and, in females, hold eggs.