Cuttles

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term likely referring to the plural form of marine mollusks known for their internal shells and ability to change color
2. Often associated with a type of cephalopod that includes species such as cuttlefish
3. Denotes more than one individual of a sea creature characterized by a broad, flattened body and distinctive fin along its sides

Etymology: The cuttlefish takes its name from a word for "pouch" or "sack." The Old English "cudele" was a diminutive built on a Proto-Germanic root meaning a bag or pouch, which is the same idea that gives us the cuttlefish's ink sac. The creature's name is therefore a description of its anatomy rather than of its movement or its appearance. Related forms survive in dialectal German, where "Kudele" names the same animal, and in Norwegian "kaule." The plural "cuttles" is simply the plural of "cuttle," which in Middle English was spelled "cutil," "codel," or "codul." Over time the word's spelling and sound shifted, and the "-le" ending in "cuttle" reflects the diminutive suffix attached to the older "cod" stem. A separate, unrelated word, "cuttle" as in "cutlass" or the older "coutel" meaning a knife, came through Old French from Latin "cultellus," a diminutive of "culter" ("knife"). That word is a doublet of "couteau," but it has no connection to the sea creature.

Synonyms: cuttlefish