Dicyemid

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Any of several tiny parasitic animals that live in the kidneys of cephalopods such as octopuses and squids
2. A microscopic worm-like organism of the group Dicyemida, which infects the kidney tissue of marine cephalopods
3. A minute parasitic invertebrate belonging to the phylum Dicyemida, found living inside the renal organs of squids and octopuses

Etymology: Dicyemids are tiny parasites of marine cephalopods such as octopuses and squid, and the name reflects their unusual body plan. The word comes from the New Latin "Dicyemida," the name of the group, built from Greek roots meaning "two" and "cell" or "hollow," a reference to their simple bodies. Each adult consists of a thin layer of cells surrounding a single central cell mass, and the group is classed among the Mesozoa, a category long used for organisms too simple to fit neatly among the major animal phyla. The name was coined by the zoologist who described the group, and the word is a technical term used almost exclusively in biology and parasitology. Its form tells you what it names: "dicyemid" is an adjective-turned-noun, meaning a member of the Dicyemida, and the suffix "-id" marks membership of a biological family or order.