Meanings
plural leptocephali
- The flat, transparent larva of an eel, originally thought to be a distinct species.
There they spawn, and from the fertilized eggs emerge the leptocephali, which then ride on currents all the way back to Europe.
2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, Granta Books, published 2013, page 69Synonyms: glass eel
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe flat, transparent larva of an eel, originally thought to be a distinct species.
Origin
- Ancient Greekλεπτός“thin, slim”
- Englishleptocephalus
From (obsolete) genus name Leptocephalus, equivalent to Ancient Greek λεπτός (leptós, “thin, slim”) + κεφαλή (kephalḗ, “head”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
leptocephalus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leptocephalus
“leptocephalus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leptocephalus. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “leptocephalus,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leptocephalus.
Source: leptocephalus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.