Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sea firefly

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.12 in modern English

Syllables: sea -fire-fly
IPA

19

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Vargula hilgendorfii, a small bioluminescent ostracod found in the waters off Japan.

Example Sentences

"[…] sea fireflies. In some cases, the strings of light that sea fireflies (bioluminescent ostracods) produce rise up off the bottom. In other cases, they may be horizontal or diagonal, like drifting strands of glowing pearls."
"[…] how nocturnal sea fireflies (Cypridina) eject luminous blue light in the sands off the coast of Japan. Their emission of light—or “bioluminescence”—does not burn them from within like a bulb's heat. It is a “cold light,” the energy from a chemical […]"

Etymology

Calque of Japanese 海蛍 (umihotaru).

Inflected Forms

sea fireflies (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

seafire

Questions

What does sea firefly mean?: Vargula hilgendorfii, a small bioluminescent ostracod found in the waters off Japan.
Where does sea firefly come from?: Calque of Japanese 海蛍 (umihotaru).

How to pronounce sea firefly

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