selachian
/sɪˈleɪkɪən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Pertaining to (what is now classified as) the superorder Selachimorpha or division Selachii, comprising the sharks; or, sometimes more broadly, to the subclass Elasmobranchii, including sharks, rays and related species.
adj
noun
Any organism of the superorder Selachimorpha or subclass Elasmobranchii; an extant shark (or related species).
Example Sentences
- "Fig. 4-10 shows crude apparatus which was used to make rough measurements of the vertical forces produced by selachian tails."
- "Telling selachian sharks apart from batoid skates and rays is relatively easy (with some exceptions noted below), but telling skates (rajiforms) apart from rays (myliobatiforms) can be more challenging."
- "These two tours had whetted the colonies' appetite for Royal visits, and by the turn of the century that appetite was positively selachian."
- "Leary frowned and then smiled his selachian smile."
- "However, some selachians enter freshwater and a few, like the stingray Paratrygon motoro, are even restricted to freshwater."
Etymology
From the (disused) genus name Selache, from Latin selachē, from the plural of Ancient Greek σέλαχος (sélakhos, “shark”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: selachē, σέλαχος
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /sɪˈleɪkɪən/
Inflected Forms
more selachian (comparative)
most selachian (superlative)
selacian (alternative)
selachians (plural)