Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Some imaginary sea-monster.
  • noun [capitalized] [NL. (Linnæus, 1735).] A Linnean genus of myriapods, approximately the same as the class Myriapoda, subsequently variously restricted, now the type of the limited family Scolopendridæ, and containing such centipeds as have the cephalic segments imbricate, four stemmatous ocelli on each side, attenuated antennæ, and twenty-one pairs of feet.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) A genus of venomous myriapods including the centipeds. See centiped.
  • noun rare A sea fish.

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

  • noun obsolete A mythical sea-creature, reputed to be able to disgorge its bowels to dislodge any fishing-hook.
  • noun A centipede or millipede.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin scolopendra, from Ancient Greek σκολόπενδρα (skolopendra).

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