bryozoan

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Translingual Bryozoa

Proto-Indo-European *-nós

Proto-Italic *-nos

Latin -nus

Latin -ānus

Old French -ainder.

Middle English -an

English -an

English bryozoan

From Translingual Bryozoa + English -an.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌbɹɑɪəˈzəʊən/

Noun

bryozoan (plural bryozoa or bryozoans)

1. (zoology) A member of the phylum Bryozoa of aquatic, usually colonial invertebrates. [from 19th c.]
   • 1991, Martha Holmes, Sea Trek, BBC Books, page 79:

     The blanket of bryozoans also blocks out some of the light needed by the blade for photosynthesis.

   • 2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherlands, Penguin, published 2023, page 163:

     Every microscopic individual in a bryozoan colony is a clone of the original animal that settled on the lake floor, and is a hermaphrodite, both male and female.

Synonyms

• ectoproct (dated), polyzoan (obsolete), moss animal (uncommon)

Translations

invertebrate in the phylum Bryozoa

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 苔蘚蟲 / 苔藓虫 (zh) (táixiǎnchóng)

• Czech: mechovka f
• Dutch: mosdiertje (nl) n
• Esperanto: briozoo
• Finnish: sammaleläin (fi)
• French: ectoprocte (fr) m
• German: Moostierchen n
• Icelandic: mosadýr n
• Irish: eicteapracht f
• Italian: briozoo m
• Japanese: 苔虫 (kokemushi)
• Polish: mszywioł (pl) m
• Portuguese: ectoprocto (pt) m
• Russian: мша́нка (ru) f (mšánka)
• Spanish: briozoo m

Adjective

bryozoan (not comparable)

1. (zoology) Pertaining to the Bryozoa. [from 19th c.]

Synonyms

• polyzoan, polyzoic (both obsolete)

Related terms

• bryozoon