starfishn.
/ˈstɑːfɪʃ/, U.S. /ˈstɑrˌfɪʃ/ 1. Any of numerous echinoderms of the class Asteroidea (and occasionally the class Ophiuroidea), having a flattened body, usually with five or more arms radiating from a central disc. Members of the class Ophiuroidea, which are more commonly known as brittlestars, have long arms up to sixty centimetres in length, while members of the class Asteroidea have arms which are much shorter or may be completely absent.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Echinodermata > [noun] > subphylum Eleutherozoa > class Asteroidea > member of (starfish)
starfish1538
sea-pad1558
sea-star1569
star1569
pad1613
finger fish1709
sea-sun1731
stelleridan1835
stelliridean1837
asteroid1841
sand-star1841
spoon-worm1841
sun star1841
sun starfish1850
Stellerid1882
stelleroid1900
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Stella, a sterre, also a sterrefyshe.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Arbre marin.., the greatest of Starre-fishes.
1672 J. Josselyn New-Englands Rarities 95 The Star Fish, having five points like a Star, the whole Fish no bigger than the Palm of a Mans hand.
1743 Philos. Trans. 1742–3 (Royal Soc.) 42 p. xv Many of the Star-fish Kind..which usually consist of five equal Radii or Arms, were found wanting, some one, others two, three, or four, of those Radii; and Nature was reproducing in them the Radii wanting.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VIII. 174 Worms, star-fish and polypi;..those nauseous and despicable creatures, that excite our curiosity chiefly by their imperfections.
1836–9 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. II. 34/1 The star-fish has the power of slowly moving its rays.
1868 M. W. Taylor in Trans. Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archæol. Soc. 1 166 Imparting..a kind of star-fish appearance to the structure.
1885 M. W. Taylor in Trans. Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archæol. Soc. 8 331 The White Raise or Star-fish cairn.
1896 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. VI. 305 Star-fish are sluggish animals.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. 177 It is possible for the starfish to separate off the damaged or threatened arm and escape with the rest of its body.
1952 W. J. Miller Introd. Hist. Geol. (ed. 6) xviii. 225 Asterozoans (starfishes) and echinoids (sea urchins) were rare in the Ordovician, the latter having been represented by very primitive forms.
2012 Scuba Apr. 96/1 From the tunnel, you swim over boulders and areas of seagrass to the reef where you can see scorpionfish, starfish and tubeworms.
2. = starfish flower n. at Compounds.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > non-British plants or herbs > [noun] > African plants > stapelias
stapelia1785
starfish1840
carrion-flower1852
toad-flower1884
stapeliad1933
1801 Curtis's Bot. Mag. 15 536 (heading) Stapelia Asterias. Star-Fish Stapelia.]
1840 J. Paxton & J. Lindley Pocket Bot. Dict. 302/1 Star fish, see Stapelia Asterias.
c1917 Ann. Rep. & Trans. 1916 (Manch. Microsc. Soc.) 109 We noticed..many plants of the starfish (Stapelia) whose stems resemble those of the Cactus.
1963 N.Y. Times 20 Oct. 147/5 The rosary vine and starfish (stapelia) are curious succulents which are members of the milkweed family.
2013 Star (S. Afr.) (Nexis) 28 Sept. Flowers like stapeliads - the 'starfish'..are some of the more popular choices.
Derivatives
ˈstarfished adj. that resembles the shape or form of a starfish, esp. of a person with limbs outstretched.
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1915 Sat. Evening Post 26 June 32/3 It caught Montes over the pate. Down he went, nose foremost, gurgling, and starfished on the floor.
1929 E. Bowen Joining Charles 202 A fat hand was star-fished against a pane.
1995 Outside Sept. 61/1 Bodies are strewn on the lawn, starfished and basking in the sun.
2004 Eve Dec. 53/2 I lay starfished on my bed, still fully clothed, gasping for water.
ˈstarfishy adj. resembling or characteristic of a starfish, esp. in shape or form.
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1859 Chamber's Jrnl. 12 Nov. 314/1 His long thin fingers manifested themselves straggling out in a star-fishy sort of way.
1933 T. Crocker Cruise of Zaca iv. 46 I should have turned the creature over and plunged my thumb into its starfishy stomach, when it would have obligingly sucked out the poison itself.
2007 T. Lin Bed 78 They passed Greg's old elementary school—a flat, starfishy thing, expanded over the years in a makeshift..way.
Compounds
starfish bed n. Geology (usually with capital initials) a stratum rich in starfish fossils.
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the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > sedimentary formation > [noun] > stratum > stratum by constitution > organic remains or fossils
moorlog1655
coal plant1695
leaf bed1697
plant bed1784
oyster bed1833
stem-bed1853
forest-bed1861
starfish bed1861
fish-bed1869
insect-bed1893
lagerstätte1972
1860 Geologist 3 79 Mr. Lee..really found them in the ‘starfish quarry’ at Leintwardine, when collecting fossils there in company with Mr. Lightbody.]
1861 Geologist 4 190 The Pterygotus with its great succulent body, whose remains are met with above and below the Starfish-bed, could not have been a deep-sea creature.
1935 J. Pringle South of Scotl. ii. 34 Near the head of the Lady Burn the mudstones are underlain by a hard greenish-grey calcareous sandstone, the well-known Starfish Bed.
2013 B. Lefebvre et al. in D. A. T. Harper & T. Servais Early Palaeozoic Biogeogr. & Palaeogeogr. 178/2 By far the highest diversity of ophiuroids comes from the Lady Burn Starfish Bed.
starfish flower n. any of various low-growing, spineless, succulent plants of the genus Stapelia (family Apocynaceae) native to Africa and bearing large, hairy flowers which are shaped like a starfish and frequently smell of rotting flesh; cf. carrion-flower n. at carrion n. and adj. Compounds 3b.
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1864 L. H. Grindon Brit. & Garden Bot. 343 The star-fish flowers, which are species of Stapelia..have angular stems and branches like those of some kinds of cactus, but covered with scaly protuberances instead of spines.
1974 Amer. Biol. Teacher 36 79/1 Another strange adaptation to insure pollination is found in Stapelia, the starfish flower, or carrion flower.
2008 Telegram & Gaz. (Mass.) (Nexis) 27 Feb. 42 Commonly called the starfish flower, the bloom is shaped like an actual starfish but is much larger, and the scent is quite attractive—if you happen to be a fly in search of some several-days-old carrion.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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