heptapod

plural heptapods

1. Something with seven legs.

   The heptapod, then, may be considered, along with the US cage, an alternative to the more conventional tripod.

   1985, Randal Gray, editor, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906-1921, London: Conway Maritime Press, →ISBN, page 231

   4 more examples

   The mystery of the Nagato’s wonderful foremast has now been solved. It is a heptapod, the trunk being supported by six powerful struts, carrying a series of searchlights, range-finder platforms, and director towers.

   1921 October, F. M. Robinson, “Professional Notes”, in Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute, volume 47, number 10, Annapolis, M.D.: U.S. Naval Institute, page 1631

   But as she came nearer and yet nearer I could see her, as it were, disintegrating under the rain of sledge-hammer blows. Her massive heptapod foremast was a tangle of twisted steel.

   1925, Hector C[harles] Bywater, The Great Pacific War, Boston, M.A.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, page 292

   But perhaps what makes the heptapods in Arrival most believable is that they are not all that alien to begin with. From their body shape to their tentacles to their ability to squirt an ink of sorts, heptapods bear a strong resemblance to Earth's most alien intelligent life: cephalopods (squid and octopus).

   2016 December 8, Christie Wilcox, “The scientific explanation for why humans are so convinced that aliens look like octopuses”, in Quartz, archived from the original on 24 Mar 2023

   After the incident, Dr. Ramos reviewed the footage of Costello's activity, which was recorded as part of a behavior and cognition study (the lab was also observing another octopus, Abbott; both were named after the heptapod aliens in the movie "Arrival"). In total, the team found three more shorter instances that appeared similar.

   2023 May 25, Carolyn Wilke, “Video Footage: Is This Octopus Having a Nightmare?”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 May 2023