Crinoidea

plural noun

Cri·​noi·​dea

krə̇ˈnȯidēə,

-rīˈ-

: a large class of chiefly tropical or fossil echinoderms that have a more or less cup-shaped body provided with five or more feathery arms commonly bifurcated or many-branched and bearing pinnules, a mouth lying between the arms on the concave upper surface, and opposite the mouth usually a long jointed stalk fixed to the base of the body and having its opposite end divided into rhizoid processes that anchor the animal to the sea bottom compare comatulid, sea lily

crinoidean

krə̇ˈnȯidēən

(ˈ)krī¦-

adjective or noun

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek krinon lily + New Latin -oidea

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined above

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