any of the paired unjointed lateral appendages of polychaete worms, used in locomotion, respiration, etc
2.
any of various similar appendages of other invertebrates, esp certain molluscs
Word origin
New Latin: from para-1 + -podium
parapodium in American English
(ˌpærəˈpoudiəm)
nounWord forms: plural-dia (-diə)
Zoology
one of the unjointed rudimentary limbs or processes of locomotion of many worms, as annelids
Derived forms
parapodial
adjective
Word origin
[1875–80; para-1 + -podium]This word is first recorded in the period 1875–80. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: graph, massage, musical chairs, neoclassic, weekenderpara- is a prefix appearing in loanwords from Greek, most often attached to verbs and verbalderivatives, with the meanings “at or to one side of, beside, side by side” (parabola; paragraph; parallel; paralysis), “beyond, past, by” (paradox; paragogue); by extension from these senses, this prefix came to designate objects or activitiesauxiliary to or derivative of that denoted by the base word (parody; paronomasia), and hence abnormal or defective (paranoia), a sense now common in modern scientific coinages (parageusia; paralexia). As an English prefix, para- may have any of these senses; it is also productive in the naming of occupationalroles considered ancillary or subsidiary to roles requiring more training, or of ahigher status, on such models as paramedical and paraprofessional (paralegal; paralibrarian; parapolice); -podium is a combining form meaning “footlike part” of an organism, used in the formationof compound words. Other words that use the affix -podium include: filopodium, gonopodium, monopodium
Examples of 'parapodium' in a sentence
parapodium
Each segment bears a parapodium with species-specific morphology on either side.
Jan Grimmel, Adriaan W. C. Dorresteijn, Andreas C. Fröbius 2016, 'Formation of body appendages during caudal regeneration in Platynereis dumerilii:adaptation of conserved molecular toolsets', EvoDevohttp://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13227-016-0046-6. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)