chordate

[ kawr-deyt ]

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the phylum Chordata, comprising animals having a notochord, as the lancelets and tunicates, as well as all the true vertebrates, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

noun

1. a chordate animal.

chordate

/ ˈkɔːˌdeɪt /

noun

1. any animal of the phylum Chordata, including the vertebrates and protochordates, characterized by a notochord, dorsal tubular nerve cord, and pharyngeal gill slits

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Chordata

chordate

/ kôr′dāt′ /

1. Any of a large group of animals of the phylum Chordata, having at some stage of development a notochord (flexible spinal column) and nerve cord running along the back, a tail stretching above and behind the anus, and gill slits. Chordates probably evolved before the Cambrian Period and are related to the hemichordates, echinoderms, and chaetognaths. The vertebrates, tunicates, and cephalochordates are the three main groups of chordates.

Word History and Origins

Origin of chordate¹

First recorded in 1885–90; Chordata

Word History and Origins

Origin of chordate¹

C19: from Medieval Latin chordata; see chord ¹+ -ate ¹

Example Sentences

The category of chordates includes wild mammals, wild birds, livestock, humans, and fish.

From Nautilus

The experiment revealed traces of bacteria, plants, arthropods, nematodes, fungi, and chordates, showing that under the right conditions, middens may be storehouses of information from across the tree of life.

From Popular-Science

It is in many respects the simplest in structure among Chordate animals.

From Project Gutenberg