acalephann.adj.
/akəˈliːfən/, U.S. /ækəˈlifən/ Zoology.† A. n.
An animal of the former class Acalepha; esp. a jellyfish. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Diploblastica > phylum Coelenterata > [noun] > class Acalepha > member of (jelly-fish)
nettle1601
sea-nettle1601
blubber1602
nettlefish1611
red nettle1611
squalder1659
sea-jellya1682
urticaa1682
carvel1688
sea-qualm1694
sea-bleb1700
acaleph1706
sea-blubber1717
Medusa1752
quarla1820
acalephan1834
medusite1838
jellyfish1841
naked-eyed medusa1848
slobber1849
sea-cross1850
sea-danger1850
sun squall1853
discophore1856
medusoid1856
starch1860
Discophoran1876
jelly1882
sea-blub1885
1834 Catal. Physiol. Ser. Compar. Anat. Mus. Royal College of Surgeons II. 68 In Acalephans. 982. A Medusa..with a portion of the disk removed so as to expose the central cavity.
1843 R. Owen Lect. Compar. Anat. Invertebr. Animals 111 The form described and figured by M. Sars in 1829 as a new genus of Acalephan.
1854 C. Knight Eng. Cycl.: Nat. Hist. I. 24 The general opinion seems to be that touch is the only sense possessed by the Acalephans.
1873 J. N. Smith On Sci. of Sensibility xi. 139 Examine the internal arrangement of any polyp, be it sea-anemone, coral, or sea-fan, any of the countless and infinitely diverse acalephans, or any of the echinoderms.
B. adj.
Of or belonging to the former class Acalepha. Now disused.
ΚΠ
1851 Brit. & Foreign Medico-chirurg. Rev. 8 522 Mr Huxley..has had ample opportunity of studying the wonderful aberrant forms of the Acalephan class.
1901 A. E. Shipley & E. W. MacBride Zool.: Elem. Text-bk. iii. 67 The construction of the Acalephan organ is quite different.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.adj.1834