Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ostracod

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.54 in modern English

Syllables: os-tra-cod
IPA

11

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of many small crustaceans, of the class Ostracoda, that resemble a shrimp enclosed in a bivalve shell.

Example Sentences

"Considering all the ecological data, there seems to be an evolution in the associations of ostracods throughout time."
"This study has also shown that the fifth limb is most probably of thoracic origin and hence ostracods have only one pair of maxillae."
"A number of parasites and epibionts have been reported from freshwater ostracods, including cestodes, protozoans, helminthes, peritrichs, and acanthocephalans (Griffits and Evans 1994)."

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ὀστρακώδης (ostrakṓdēs, “covered with shell”), from ὄστρακον (óstrakon, “clay pot; shell”); compare translingual Ostracoda.

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: ὀστρακώδης

Inflected Forms

ostracods (plural) ostracode (alternative) ostracoid (alternative)

Derived Forms

ostracodal ostracodology

Frequently Paired Words

ostracoderm

Synonyms

seed shrimp mussel shrimp

Questions

What does ostracod mean?: Any of many small crustaceans, of the class Ostracoda, that resemble a shrimp enclosed in a bivalve shell.
Where does ostracod come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce ostracod

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