oxea

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ὀξέᾱ (oxéā). Either from the Ionic form of Attic ὀξεῖᾰ (oxeîă), (a feminine form of ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s, “sharp”) applied to ῥᾰ́βδος (rhắbdos, “wand; shaft”))[1] or a variant of ὀξῠ́ᾱ (oxŭ́ā), ὀξῠ́η (oxŭ́ē, “beech; spear-shaft”).[2]

Pronunciation

Noun

oxea (plural oxea or oxeas or oxeae)

  1. (zoology, of sponges (Porifera)) a monoaxial spicule which is pointed at both ends

Usage notes

  • The Oxford English Dictionary lists only the plural oxea,[3] but other sources[4] list the plurals oxeae (by analogy to Latin feminine nouns such as alumna ~ alumnae) or oxeas (by generalization to standard English pluralization).

Antonyms

  • (antonym(s) of “pointed spicule”): strongyle

Derived terms

  • oxeate

References

  1. ^ “oxea, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2014.
  2. ^ “ὀξέᾱ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
    “ὀξῠ́ᾱ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ “oxea, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2014.
  4. ^ "oxea" in Glossary of geology by Jackson, Julia A., James P. Mehl, and Klaus KE Neuendorf, eds. Springer, 2005.

Spanish

Verb

oxea

  1. inflection of oxear:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative
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