turbellarian

American  

[tur-buh-lair-ee-uhn] / ˌtɜr bəˈlɛər i ən /

adjective

1. belonging to the Turbellaria, a class of platyhelminths or flatworms, mostly aquatic and having cilia on the body surface.

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noun

1. a turbellarian platyhelminth.

turbellarian British  

/ ˌtɜːbɪˈlɛərɪən /

noun

1. any typically aquatic free-living flatworm of the class Turbellaria , having a ciliated epidermis and a simple life cycle: includes the planarians

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the class Turbellaria

Etymology

Origin of turbellarian

1875–80; < New Latin Turbellari ( a ) ( Latin turbell ( ae ) a stir, row (plural diminutive of turba turmoil) + -āria, neuter plural of -ārius -ary ) + -an

Example Sentences

The third stage in our ancestral series is the turbellarian.

From The Whence and the Whither of Man A Brief History of His Origin and Development through Conformity to Environment; Being the Morse Lectures of 1895 by Tyler, John Mason

Between the turbellarian and the annelid many aberrant lines diverged.

From The Whence and the Whither of Man A Brief History of His Origin and Development through Conformity to Environment; Being the Morse Lectures of 1895 by Tyler, John Mason

The perivisceral cavity, formed perhaps by cutting off and enlarging the lateral pouches of the turbellarian digestive system, serves as a very simple but serviceable circulatory system.

From The Whence and the Whither of Man A Brief History of His Origin and Development through Conformity to Environment; Being the Morse Lectures of 1895 by Tyler, John Mason

Rhabdocœla, rab-dō-sē′la, n. a prime division of turbellarian worms.—adjs.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

Now the turbellarian is small and sluggish, with a fair digestive system.

From The Whence and the Whither of Man A Brief History of His Origin and Development through Conformity to Environment; Being the Morse Lectures of 1895 by Tyler, John Mason