Meanings
nounhyponome (plural hyponomes)
plural hyponomes
- biologyA tubular organ of a cephalopod, used to expel water.
Ordinarily, it swims forward, but the hyponome can give an emergency spritz, sending the hydrodynamic cone floating backwards at speed with a powerful jet through long thin streamers of brown seaweed and clouds of scattering shrimp.
2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherlands, Penguin, published 2023, page 243
Origin
- Ancient Greekὑπονομή“underground passage”
- Englishhyponome
From Ancient Greek ὑπονομή (huponomḗ, “underground passage”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
hyponome. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyponome
MLA
“hyponome.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyponome. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hyponome,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyponome.
Source: hyponome on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.