ophidian
English
editEtymology
editFrom Latin ophidia (from Ancient Greek ὄφις (óphis, “snake”)) + -ian.
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /oʊˈfɪdi.ən/
- Hyphenation: ophid‧i‧an
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- Rhymes: -ɪdiən
Noun
editophidian (plural ophidians)
- Any species of the suborder Serpentes; a snake or serpent.
- 1997, Olivier Rieppel, “chapter 2: The Lepidosauromorpha: an overview with special emphasis on the Squamata”, in Nicholas C. Fraser, Hans-Dieter Sues, editors, In the Shadow of the Dinosaurs: Early Mesozoic Tetrapods[1], page 31:
- Vertebral structure is critical for the identification of fossil snakes, because vertebrae are among the most easily fossilized parts of ophidians.
- 2011, Didier Marchand, “Chapter 11: The Logic of Forms in the Light of Developmental Biology and Palaeontology”, in Paul Bourgine, editor, Morphogenesis[2], page 205:
- It has long been known that ophidians have lost not only their front legs but also every embryonic trace of these limbs and their associated shoulder girdle (to such a degree that we cannot determine how many cervical vertebrae they have).
- 2012, Bruce M. Rothschild, Hans-Peter Schultze, Rodrigo Pellegrini, Herpetological Osteopathology: Annotated Bibliography of Amphibians and Reptiles[3], page 226:
- Siamese or double monsters are well known in saurians, chelonians, and ophidians, as are bicephalic, two-tailed and conjoined bodies (thoracodymus, ischiodymus, etc.).
Translations
editone of the Serpentes
Adjective
editophidian (comparative more ophidian, superlative most ophidian)
- Of or pertaining to the suborder Serpentes; of, related to, or characteristic of a snake or serpent.
- 2009, Rosemary G. Gillespie, D. A. Clague, editors, Encyclopedia of Islands, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 843:
- A less obvious asset of snakes is their very light and supple jaws, which arose in the course of ophidian evolution to permit the ingestion of extraordinarily large meals (at maximum, more than 100% of their body mass).
Synonyms
editTranslations
editof or pertaining to Serpentes
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References
edit- (etymology) Ophidian, The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English terms suffixed with -ian
- English 4-syllable words
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- Rhymes:English/ɪdiən/4 syllables
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- en:Snakes