vertebrate
/ˈvɛɹ.tɪ.bɹeɪt/ adjective, noun
Forms vertebrates
- adjective Having a backbone.
- adjective Of, being, or pertaining to Vertebrata, animals with backbones.
- noun An animal having a backbone: one belonging to the subphylum Vertebrata.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
Adapted borrowing of French vertébré, from Latin vertebrātus (“jointed”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more).
From the substantivization of the above adjective through the associated taxon's name (Vertebrata) (see -ate (noun-forming suffix) for more).
Webster’s 1913
- noun One of the Vertebrata.
- adjective Having a backbone, or vertebral column, containing the spinal marrow, as man, quadrupeds, birds, amphibia, and fishes.
- adjective Contracted at intervals, so as to resemble the spine in animals. Henslow.
Etymology [L. vertebratus.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “vertebrate”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details