Octopus
/ˈɒk.tə.pəs/noun
A marine mollusk with eight arms and a soft body.
Did you know?The word comes from Greek, where it was originally a learned borrowing, and the same Greek root behind “octopus” also gave us words for eight in science and measurement.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
GRK
oktṓpous
“eight-footed; an octopus”
Latin
LAT
octōpūs
“borrowed form used in learned writing”
18th Century
English
octopus
“a cephalopod with eight arms”
Modern English
English
octopus
“a marine mollusk with eight arms and a soft body”
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