Gnathites

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The paired jointed limbs near the mouth of an arthropod, such as a crustacean or insect, that are modified for handling and chewing food
2. Segmented appendages positioned around the mouth of certain arthropods that help manipulate and process food before it is swallowed
3. The mouthparts of arthropods, specifically the jointed limbs surrounding the oral opening that serve to grasp and masticate food

Etymology: "Gnathites" is simply the plural of "gnathite", a term from zoology and entomology for one of the paired appendages near the mouth of an arthropod, such as the jaw-like mouthparts of insects and crustaceans. The base of the word is "gnath-", from Greek "gnathos", meaning jaw, combined with the suffix "-ite", which in scientific coinages marks a part or member of a larger body. The pattern is a classical-style technical formation rather than a word that passed down through ordinary speech. Anatomists built many such names from Greek roots to label specific structures, so a reader can usually work out the meaning from the pieces: a gnathite is a jaw-part, and the plural simply refers to several of them along an animal's head.