Telson

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The section at the rear end of some marine arthropods serves both to aid in propulsion and acts as a stabilizing appendage in aquatic habitats
2. This body part found in certain crustaceans functions in movement while also providing protection and balance in the water
3. The final part at the back of certain marine arthropods helps with swimming and stability in their environment

Etymology: Ancient Greek "télson" meant "headland" or "promontory," a point of land running out into the sea. The word reached English as a technical term, and its path from a coastline to the tail of a shrimp or lobster rests on a visual resemblance: the flattened, pointed final segment of a crustacean's abdomen projects backward much as a headland juts into water. The term is a scientific borrowing rather than a word that passed through everyday speech. Zoologists took the Greek noun and applied it to that terminal body segment, which in many crustaceans bears the tail fan together with the uropods. The sense is precise and specialist, so the word is mostly found in biology texts and descriptions of anatomy.