Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

demersal

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.87 in modern English

Syllables: de-m-er-sal
IPA

11

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

4

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

That lives near the bottom of a body of water.

adj

Taking place near the bottom of a body of water.

noun

Any demersal organism, especially a groundfish.

Example Sentences

"Unlike the more demersal (bottom-dwelling) cod, pollock will pursue schools of small fishes at any depth, occasionally driving them to the surface of the water where frantic splashing can be seen as the prey attempt to escape."
"The young tend to occupy a pelagic habitat, but shift to a more demersal lifestyle with maturity."
"At a certain age, however, the Cape horse mackerel in the northern Benguela tend to adopt a more demersal lifestyle, thus entering into the bottom dead zone."
"demersal fishing [ = groundfishing⁠]"

Etymology

From Latin demersus, past participle of dēmergō (“to sink”); compare demersed.

Inflected Forms

more demersal (comparative) most demersal (superlative) demersals (plural)

Derived Forms

bathydemersal demersally

Frequently Paired Words

pelagic planktonic

Synonyms

benthic benthonic

Questions

What does demersal mean?: That lives near the bottom of a body of water.
Where does demersal come from?: From Latin demersus, past participle of dēmergō (“to sink”); compare demersed.

How to pronounce demersal

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