scolopendra

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noun

A mythical sea-creature, reputed to be able to disgorge its bowels to dislodge any fishing-hook.

OriginLatin scolopendra ← Ancient Greek σκολόπενδρα →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounscolopendra (plural scolopendras)

plural scolopendras

  1. obsoleteA mythical sea-creature, reputed to be able to disgorge its bowels to dislodge any fishing-hook.

    Spring-headed Hydraes, and sea-shouldring Whales, / Great whirlpooles, which all fishes make to flee, / Bright Scolopendraes, arm'd with siluer scales, / Mighty Monoceroses, with immeasured tayles.

    1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
  2. A centipede of the genus Scolopendra.

    This led the conversation to the insects of the Crimea and Ukraine, of which I had made a considerable collection, and the Emperor inquired of me if there were scorpions, scolopendras and tarantulas in the Crimea.

    1845 November 28, The Eclectic Magazine, volume 6, page 352

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekσκολόπενδρα
  2. Latinscolopendra
  3. Englishscolopendra

From Latin scolopendra, from Ancient Greek σκολόπενδρα (skolópendra).

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

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Cite this entry
APA

scolopendra. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scolopendra

MLA

“scolopendra.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scolopendra. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scolopendra,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scolopendra.

Source: scolopendra on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.