Gastropod
/ˈɡæs.trəˌpɒd/noun
A mollusk, such as a snail or slug, that typically has a single shell or no shell and moves on a muscular foot.
Did you know?Gastropod was coined in modern scientific Latin from Greek roots, and the image is exactly what it sounds like: the animal’s broad crawling foot sits beneath its visceral mass, making the body plan look like a stomach riding on a foot.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
gastḗr
“stomach, belly”
Ancient Greek
Greek
poús, podós
“foot”
1801
French
gastéropode
“a mollusk with the body organized around a belly and a foot”
1802
Latin
Gastropoda
“scientific class name for snails and slugs”
Modern English
English
gastropod
“a snail, slug, or related mollusk with a muscular crawling foot”
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