noctiluca
UK /ˌnɒk.tɪˈluː.kə/ · US /ˌnɑk.tɪˈlu.kə/ noun
Forms noctilucae noctilucas
- noun (obsolete) A firefly, glowworm.
- noun (obsolete) The moon
- noun (obsolete) A phosphorescent substance
- noun Noctiluca scintillans (sea sparkle).
Synonyms
Etymology
From Latin noctilūca.
Webster’s 1913
- noun That which shines at night; --a fanciful name for phosphorus.
- noun A genus of marine flagellate Infusoria, remarkable for their unusually large size and complex structure, as well as for their phosphorescence. The brilliant diffuse phosphorescence of the sea is often due to myriads of Noctilucæ.
Etymology [L. noctiluca something that shines by night, fr. nox, noctis, night + lucere to shine, lux light.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “noctiluca”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details