nautilus1
/ˈnɔːtɪləs
/noun (plural nautiluses or nautili /ˈnɔːtɪlʌɪ/ /ˈnɔːtɪliː/)
1A cephalopod mollusc with a light external spiral shell and numerous short tentacles around the mouth.
- Genus Nautilus, the only surviving genus of the subclass Nautiloidea: several species, in particular the pearly nautilus.
- The beautiful nautilus shell is white to orange, with white stripes and a central, black whorl.
- The shape of the museum is like a giant, spiral seashell - a nautilus - made of concrete.
2 (also paper nautilus) another term for argonaut.
Origin
Modern Latin, from Latin, from Greek nautilos, literally 'sailor'.
Nautilus2
/ˈnɔːtɪləs/The first nuclear-powered submarine, launched in 1954. This US navy vessel made a historic journey (1-5 August 1958) under the ice of the North Pole.
Origin
A name previously given to Robert Fulton's ‘diving boat’ (1800), also to the fictitious submarine in Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea.