Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

coelacanth

/ˈsiː.lə.kænθ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.75 in modern English

Syllables
coela-canth
IPA
/ˈsiː.lə.kænθ/
17
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of the class Actinistia of primitive lobe-finned fish in the order Coelacanthiformes—thought to have been extinct for 70 million years until a living specimen was discovered in 1938. Most species are large and plump and they all have bodies covered in tough elasmoid scales that act as armor.

noun

Any of the class Actinistia of primitive lobe-finned fish in the order Coelacanthiformes—thought to have been extinct for 70 million years until a living specimen was discovered in 1938. Most species are large and plump and they all have bodies covered in tough elasmoid scales that act as armor.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From the New Latin genus name Coelacanthus, from Ancient Greek κοῖλος (koîlos, “hollow”) + ἄκανθα (ákantha, “spine”), referring to the hollow caudal fin rays of the first fossil specimen described and named by Louis Agassiz in 1839.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: -, κοῖλος

Inflected Forms

coelacanths (plural) cœlacanth (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

coelacanthid coelacanthine coelacanthous

Synonyms

gombessa latimeria chalumnae

Questions

How do you pronounce coelacanth?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsiː.lə.kænθ/.
What does coelacanth mean?
Any of the class Actinistia of primitive lobe-finned fish in the order Coelacanthiformes—thought to have been extinct for 70 million years until a living specimen was discovered in 1938. Most species are large and plump and they all have bodies covered in tough elasmoid scales that act as armor.
Where does coelacanth come from?
It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce coelacanth

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “coelacanth”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsiː.lə.kænθ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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  4. Repeat and practice — Say “coelacanth” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.