octopodes

Variant of octopus

octopus definition

oc·to·pus (äk′tə pəs, -po̵os)

noun pl. octopuses -·puses, octopi -·pi′ (-pī′), octopodes oc·top′o·des′ (äk täp′ə dēz′)

  1. any of various octopods (order Octopoda) having a soft, saclike body, a reduced coelom, an internal vestigial shell, and eight sucker-bearing arms around the mouth
  2. anything suggesting an octopus; esp., an organization with branches that reach out in a powerful and influential manner

Etymology: ModL < Gr oktōpous, eight-footed < oktō, eight + pous (gen. podos), foot

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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