Added 6 October 2026
jellyfish
/ˈd͡ʒɛliˌfɪʃ/ noun
In Latin: pulmo, halipleumon Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about jellyfish at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- An almost transparent aquatic animal; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.
- Any of various species of cnidarians in the subphylum Medusozoa, including box jellyfish (class Cubozoa), true jellyfish (class Scyphozoa), stalked jellyfish (class Staurozoa), and certain hydrozoans. The medusa phase of these animals rather than a younger life stage.
- The medusa phase of these animals rather than a younger life stage.
Origin
From jelly + fish. From being an aquatic creature (i.e. fish) that is gelatinous (“jelly”). Despite the name, jellyfish are not biologically classified as fish. The term appeared in the mid-19th century and displaced various older terms such as sea jelly (now much less common), blubber/sea blubber, nettle/sea nettle (both now referring to specific jellyfish species), and, in scientific literature, medusa.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)