Anguilloid

/æŋˈɡwɪlɔɪd/ adjective

Definition

Resembling or related to eels; having eel-like characteristics but not necessarily belonging to the true eel family.

Etymology

From Latin 'anguilla' (eel) plus Greek '-oid' meaning resembling or similar to. This suffix indicates similarity rather than exact biological classification.

Kelly Says

The '-oid' suffix in science means 'kind of like but not exactly'—so anguilloid fish are eel-shaped but may be distantly related to true eels, a useful term for convergent evolution.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.