A squid is a sea animal with a soft body, a large head, and ten arms or tentacles, related to octopuses. Many squids can squirt ink to escape predators.
First recorded in English in the 17th century; origin uncertain. It might be related to dialect words meaning “squirt” or “squirt of ink,” referring to its ink defense.
Squid are like the jet-powered, ink-spraying escape artists of the ocean, shooting water to zip away backward. The word may come from the same family as “squirt,” which makes sense for an animal famous for squirting ink.
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