chaetognath

noun

chae·to·gnath ˈkē-ˌtäg-ˌnath

-tə(g)-

: arrow worm

chaetognath adjective

Word History

Etymology

from the base of New Latin Chaetognatha, class or phylum name, earlier Chaetognathi, from Greek chaítē "hair, flowing locks, mane of a horse" + -o- -o- + New Latin -gnathi, masculine plural of -gnathus -gnathous — more at chaeta

Note: The taxon was introduced by the German zoologist Rudolf Leuckart (1822-98) in "Bericht über die Leistungen der Naturgeschichte der niedrigen Thiere während der Jahre 1848-1853," Archiv für Naturgeschichte, 20. Jahrgang (1854), 2. Band, p. 334. The name, literally "bristle-jawed ones," alludes to the characteristic hooked spines on either side of a hollow organ containing the mouth.

First Known Use

circa 1889, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of chaetognath was circa 1889

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