scolopendra

noun

scol·​o·​pen·​dra ˌskä-lə-ˈpen-drə 

: centipede

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, a genus of tropical centipedes, going back to Latin, "a kind of venomous centipede," borrowed from Greek skolópendra "millipede," probably of pre-Greek substratal origin

Note: The genus was initiated by linnaeus in Systema naturae, tenth edition (Stockholm, 1758), tomus I, p. 637.

First Known Use

1608, in the meaning defined above