coelenterate

[ si-len-tuh-reyt, -ter-it ]

noun

1. any invertebrate animal of the phylum Coelenterata, including the hydras, jellyfishes, sea anemones, and corals, characterized by a single internal cavity serving for digestion, excretion, and other functions and having tentacles on the oral end. Compare cnidarian.

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the Coelenterata.

coelenterate

/ sɪˈlɛntəˌreɪt; -rɪt; ˌsiːlɛnˈtɛrɪk /

noun

1. any invertebrate of the phylum Cnidaria (formerly Coelenterata ), having a saclike body with a single opening (mouth), which occurs in polyp and medusa forms. Coelenterates include the hydra, jellyfishes, sea anemones, and corals

adjective

1. (loosely) any invertebrate of the phyla Cnidaria or Ctenophora
2. of or relating to coelenterates

coelenterate

/ sĭ-lĕn′tə-rĭt /

1. A marine invertebrate of the obsolete phylum Coelenterata, which included the cnidarians

Derived Forms

• coelenteric, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of coelenterate¹

First recorded in 1870–75; Coelenterata

Word History and Origins

Origin of coelenterate¹

C19: from New Latin Coelenterata, hollow-intestined (creatures); see coel- , enteron

Example Sentences

The aloofness displayed for each other by members of the marine coelenterate species of Gorgonaceae suggests that mechanisms for preserving individuality must have existed long before the evolution of immunity.

From Literature

For example, cells in the coelenterate Hydra form them.

From Scientific American

Most of the main groups of the animal kingdom—arthropods, brachiopods, coelenterates, echinoderms, molluscs and even chordates, the branch from which vertebrates went on to develop—are found in the fossil beds of the Cambrian.

From Economist

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