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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



42 words match “SPINY”

MALACOPTERYGII n.
ys, except the anterior ray of the pectoral and dorsal fins, are closely jointed, and not spiny. It includes the carp, pike, salmon, shad, etc. Called also Malacopteri.
MASTIGURE n.
Any one of several large spiny-tailed lizards of the genus Uromastix. They inhabit Southern Asia and North Africa.
MELON n.
lants (Melocactus) having a fleshy and usually globose stem with the surface divided into spiny longitudinal ridges, and bearing at the top a prickly and woolly crown in which the small pink flowers are half concealed. M. communis, from the West Indies, is often cultivated, and sometimes called Turk's cap. (b) The rela…
MOLOCH n.
A spiny Australian lizard (Moloch horridus). The horns on the head and numerous spines on the body give it a most formidable appearance.
OYSTER n.
als in oysters. -- Pearl oyster. (Zoöl.) See under Pearl. -- Thorny oyster (Zoöl.), any spiny marine shell of the genus Spondylus.
PENGUIN n.
a Pinguin) of the Pineapple family; also, the plant itself, which has rigid, pointed, and spiny-toothed leaves, and is used for hedges. [Written also pinguin.] Arctic penguin (Zoöl.), the great auk. See Auk.
PERCH n.
Any one of numerous species of spiny-finned fishes belonging to the Percidæ, Serranidæ, and related families, and resembling, more or less, the true perches. Black perch. (a) The black bass. (b) The flasher. (c) The sea bass. -- Blue perch, the cunner. -- Gray perch, the fresh-water drum. -- Red perch, the rosefish.…
PHYLLOSOMA n.
The larva of the spiny lobsters (Palinurus and allied genera). Its body is remarkably thin, flat, and transparent; the legs are very long. Called also glass-crab, and glass-shrimp.
POMACENTROID a.
Pertaining to the Pomacentridæ, a family of bright-colored tropical fishes having spiny opercula; -- often called coral fishes.
PORCUPINE n.
wn species. Porcupine ant-eater (Zoöl.), the echidna. -- Porcupine crab (Zoöl.), a large spiny Japanese crab (Acantholithodes hystrix). -- Porcupine disease (Med.). See Ichthyosis. -- Porcupine fish (Zoöl.), any plectognath fish having the body covered with spines which become erect when the body is inflated. See Di…
ROCK n.
ose lobsters of the genera Panulirus and Palinurus. They have no large claws. Called also spiny lobster, and sea crayfish. -- Rock meal (Min.), a light powdery variety of calcite occuring as an efflorescence. -- Rock milk. (Min.) See Agaric mineral, under Agaric. -- Rock moss, a kind of lichen; the cudbear. See Cudb…
SEA CRAWFISH; SEA CRAYFISH n.
Any crustacean of the genus Palinurus and allied genera, as the European spiny lobster (P. vulgaris), which is much used as an article of food. See Lobster.
SPINED a.
Furnished with spines; spiny.
SPINESCENCE n.
The state or quality of being spinescent or spiny; also, a spiny growth or covering, as of certain animals.
SPINIFEROUS a.
Producing spines; bearing thorns or spines; thorny; spiny.
SPININESS n.
Quality of being spiny.
SPINOSITY n.
The quality or state of being spiny or thorny; spininess.
STARGASER n.
Any one of several species of spiny-rayed marine fishes belonging to Uranoscopus, Astroscopus, and allied genera, of the family Uranoscopidæ. The common species of the Eastern United States are Astroscopus anoplus, and A. guttatus. So called from the position of the eyes, which look directly upward.…
TACHYGLOSSA n.
A division of monotremes which comprises the spiny ant-eaters of Australia and New Guinea. See Illust. under Echidna.
THORNY a.
Full of thorns or spines; rough with thorns; spiny; as, a thorny wood; a thorny tree; a thorny crown.
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