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cuttlefish

(-fis̸h′)

any of a family (Sepiidae) of cephalopods that have suckers on their eight arms and two tentacles, a hard internal shell, large complex eyes, and a water-ejecting jetlike siphon for locomotion: when in danger, most cuttlefishes eject a dark-brown, inklike fluid

also cuttle

Origin: ME codel < OE cudele, akin to Norw dial. kaule (*kodle), OLowG cudele, older Du kuttlevisch: sense “pouch fish”: for IE base see cod

See cuttlefish in American Heritage Dictionary 4

cut·tle·fish

noun pl. cuttlefish cuttlefish or cut·tle·fish·es

Any of various squidlike cephalopod marine mollusks of the genus Sepia that have ten arms and a calcareous internal shell and eject a dark inky fluid when in danger.

Origin: Middle English codel, cotil, cuttlefish (from Old English cudele) + fish.

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