Cubomedusa

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Any of the box-shaped marine jellyfish with a cube-like bell and potent venom, belonging to the class Cubozoa
2. A square-bodied sea creature of the cnidarian group Cubozoa, known for its dangerous sting and four clusters of tentacles
3. A type of venomous jellyfish whose bell is shaped like a box, found in tropical and subtropical coastal waters

Etymology: Cubomedusa is a modern scientific coinage, not an ancient one. It combines "cubo-", from Latin "cubus" meaning cube, with "Medusa", the name of the Gorgon of Greek myth whose head bore snakes for hair. Biologists use the word for box jellyfish, the cube-shaped jellyfish of the class Cubozoa, named for the square shape of their bell. The "Medusa" element is a deliberate nod to the jellyfish's resemblance to the serpent-haired monster, since the animal's tentacles hang down like writhing snakes. Ancient Greeks and Romans had no concept of this creature, so the name was built from classical parts only after zoologists began classifying these animals. Lovers of etymological puzzles should note that the "cubo-" element is not from the Greek word for cube, which is "kubos" and comes into English as the root of words like "cube" itself, though the Latin form dominates in scientific compounds.