nautilus
[ nawt-l-uh s, not- ]
/ ˈnɔt l əs, ˈnɒt- /
noun, plural nau·ti·lus·es, nau·ti·li [nawt-l-ahy, not-] /ˈnɔt lˌaɪ, ˈnɒt-/ for 1, 2.
Also called chambered nautilus, pearly nautilus.
any cephalopod of the genus Nautilus, having a spiral, chambered shell with pearly septa.
(initial capital letter)
the first nuclear-powered submarine launched by the U.S. Navy.
Origin of nautilus
1595–1605; < Latin < Greek
nautílos paper nautilus, literally, sailor, derivative of
naûs ship; the webbed dorsal arms of the paper nautilus were thought to have been used as sails
Words nearby nautilus
nautes,
nautical,
nautical day,
nautical mile,
nautiloid,
nautilus,
nautophone,
nav,
nav.,
nav. arch.,
nav. e.
Example sentences from the Web for nautilus
British Dictionary definitions for nautilus
nautilus
/ (ˈnɔːtɪləs) /
noun plural -luses or -li (-ˌlaɪ)
any cephalopod mollusc of the genus Nautilus, esp the pearly nautilus
short for paper nautilus
Word Origin for nautilus
C17: via Latin from Greek
nautilos sailor, from
naus ship