Vertebrate

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈvɛɹ.tɪ.bɹeɪt/

Definitions

1. An animal possessing a backbone or spinal column, such as mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish
2. An organism characterized by having a skeletal structure featuring a spine, which includes various groups like mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish
3. A class of animals distinguished by their possession of a vertebral column, encompassing species such as mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish

Etymology: The word began as an adjective. Latin "vertebrātus" meant "jointed", from "vertebra", a joint or segment of the spine, itself from "vertere", "to turn", because the vertebrae are the jointed pieces that let the body turn and bend. French took the adjective as "vertébré", and English adapted it, so that for a long time "vertebrate" described something that had a backbone rather than naming a kind of creature. The noun came later, by a shift in grammar. Zoologists created the taxon Vertebrata for animals with backbones, and the adjective was turned into a noun to name the members of that group. Today the word is a plain technical term, and the fact that it started as a description of jointedness is the part most readers have never noticed.

Synonyms: backboned, spinal

Antonyms: invertebrate