Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various annelid worms of the class Polychaeta, including mostly marine worms such as the lugworm, and characterized by fleshy paired appendages tipped with bristles on each body segment.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Alternative spelling of polychete.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun chiefly marine annelids possessing both sexes and having paired appendages (parapodia) bearing bristles

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin Polychaeta, class name, from Greek polukhaitēs, with much hair : polu-, poly- + khaitē, long hair.]

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Examples

  • What ancient greek words does the word polychaete come from? has not helped any one else. icecream3

    [Help] Most Recent Posts icecream3 2010

  • A UK aquarium discovered a 4-foot polychaete worm that was wreaking havoc on one display.

    Big Sea Worm 2009

  • A UK aquarium discovered a 4-foot polychaete worm that was wreaking havoc on one display.

    Archive 2009-04-01 2009

  • So I'm going to take a wild guess and say that this could possibly be a living organism, perhaps a polychaete worm.

    Where In The Universe #86 | Universe Today 2010

  • Forty-two percent of the diet of the black-footed penguin is small shoaling fish, with 25 species of fish, including anchovies (Engraulis capensis) and sardines (Sardinops sagax) being recorded, as well as 18 species of crustaceans, three species of squid, and one species of polychaete worm.

    Black-footed penguin 2010

  • As part of the ANDEEP (Antarctic Benthic Deep-Sea Biodiversity) Project, scientists “spotted 674 species of isopod (a diverse order of crustaceans), most of which had never previously been described; more than 200 polychaete species (marine worms), 81 of which were found to be new species; and 76 sponges, 17 of which had previously been unknown.”

    Airborne-Diving in the Southern Ocean 2007

  • As part of the ANDEEP (Antarctic Benthic Deep-Sea Biodiversity) Project, scientists “spotted 674 species of isopod (a diverse order of crustaceans), most of which had never previously been described; more than 200 polychaete species (marine worms), 81 of which were found to be new species; and 76 sponges, 17 of which had previously been unknown.”

    Archive 2007-05-01 2007

  • In years following warming, the polychaete Spiochaetopterus typicus predominates along the Kola Section in the Barents Sea.

    Past variability in Arctic marine systems 2009

  • Following cold years, the polychaete Maldane sarsi predominates.

    Past variability in Arctic marine systems 2009

  • News from the world of deep-sea whale-falls, polychaete worms and Antarctica

    Beagle shop traffic challenge: the results are in! 2008

Comments

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  • Warning: A friend warned me if I clicked on this, I'd never go swimming again. I think he was right. Seen here.

    April 9, 2009

  • I think this might belong on John's list.

    I love that they named it Barry. :-)

    April 9, 2009