belemnite
/ˈbɛləmˌnaɪt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.14 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any member of the extinct order †Belemnitida of Mesozoic marine cephalopods, very similar in many ways to the modern squid and closely related to the modern cuttlefish.
Example Sentences
- "In the universal decay this volatile substance had chanced to survive, perhaps through many thousands of centuries. It reminded me of a sepia painting I had once seen done from the ink of a fossil Belemnite that must have perished and become fossilized millions of years ago."
- "The guts of fossilized marine reptiles are packed with belemnites, and it's been theorized that some prehistoric sharks even died from the overconsumption of heavy belemnite shell guards."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-der. Ancient Greek βέλεμνον (bélemnon) Proto-Indo-European *-tósder. Ancient Greek -της (-tēs)der. Ancient Greek -ῑ́της (-ī́tēs)der. Latin -ītēslbor. French -iteder. English -ite English belemnite From Ancient Greek βέλεμνον (bélemnon, “dart, arrow”) + English -ite.