medusa

See also: Medusa and médusa

English

A medusa (Chrysaora quinquecirrha)

Etymology

Transferative use of Medusa.

Noun

medusa (plural medusas or medusae or medusæ)

1. A jellyfish; specifically (zoology), a non-polyp form of individual cnidarians, consisting of a gelatinous umbrella-shaped bell and trailing tentacles. [from 18th c.]
   • 2014, Theo Tait, ‘Water-Borne Zombies’, London Review of Books, vol. 36 no. 5:

     Typically, what we think of as the jellyfish, the medusa, reproduces sexually, spawning sperm and eggs which, once fertilised, turn into sea anemone-like polyps, which attach themselves to the jellyfish’s bottom or other surfaces.

Synonyms

• (non-polyp form of cnidarian): jelly, jellyfish

Derived terms

• medusafish
• medusal
• medusoid

See also

• jellyfish

References

• Medusa (biology) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Jellyfish on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

Anagrams

• amused, sea mud

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Catalan

Etymology

Latin Medusa

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /məˈdu.zə/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /meˈdu.za/

Noun

medusa f (plural meduses)

1. jellyfish

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Galician

Noun

medusa f (plural medusas)

1. jellyfish, medusa

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Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /meˈduza/

Noun

medusa f (plural meduse)

1. (animals) A jellyfish.

Derived terms

• meduseo

Anagrams

• desuma

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Portuguese

Noun

medusa f (plural medusas)

1. (zoology) medusa (non-polyp form of a cnidarian)

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Spanish

Etymology

From Medusa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /meˈdusa/, [meˈðusa]

• Audio (Spain)

  (file)

Noun

medusa f (plural medusas)

1. jellyfish

   Synonyms: aguamala, aguamar, aguaviva

Further reading

• “medusa” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.