Meanings
nounpolyp (plural polyps)
plural polyps
- biologyA cylindrical coelenterate, such as the hydra, having a mouth surrounded with tentacles.
- biologyThe sessile life stage of many cnidarians, whose free-swimming stage, if present, is the medusa.
- medicineAn abnormal growth protruding from a mucous membrane.
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*polh₁ús
- Ancient Greekπολῠ́ς (polŭ́s)
- Ancient Greekπολυ- (polu-)
- Proto-Indo-European*ped-
- Proto-Indo-European*pṓds
- Ancient Greekπούς (poús)
- Ancient Greekπολύπους (polúpous)
- Latinpolypus
- Englishpolyp
From Latin polypus (“a polyp, a polypus in the nose”), from Ancient Greek πολύπους (polúpous, from πολύς (polús, “many”) + πούς (poús, “foot”)). Doublet of polypus.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian полип, полип
- полип (polip)the sessile life stage of a coelenterate
- полип (polip)growth
- полип (polip)coelenterate
Catalan pòlip, pòlip
- pòlipgrowth
- pòlipcoelenterate
Chinese Mandarin 息肉
- 息肉 (xīròu)growth
Czech polyp, polyp
- polypgrowth
- polypcoelenterate
Dutch poliep, poliep
- poliepgrowth
- poliepcoelenterate
Esperanto polipo
- polipogrowth
Finnish polyyppi, polyyppi
- polyyppigrowth
- polyyppicoelenterate
French polype, polype
- polypegrowth
- polypecoelenterate
German Polyp, Polyp
- Polypgrowth
- Polypcoelenterate
Greek πολύποδας
- πολύποδας (polýpodas)coelenterate
Hungarian polip
- polipcoelenterate
Icelandic sepi, holsepi
- sepigrowth
- holsepicoelenterate
Italian polipo, polipo
- polipogrowth
- polipocoelenterate
Japanese ポリープ, ポリプ
- ポリープ (porīpu)growth
- ポリプ (poripu)growth
Portuguese pólipo, pólipo
- pólipogrowth
- pólipocoelenterate
Russian поли́п, поли́п
- поли́п (políp)growth
- поли́п (políp)coelenterate
Spanish pólipo, pólipo
- pólipogrowth
- pólipocoelenterate
Swedish polyp, polyp
- polypgrowth
- polypcoelenterate
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
polyp. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polyp
MLA
“polyp.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polyp. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “polyp,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polyp.
Source: polyp on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.