Ammodytes

noun

Am·​mo·​dy·​tes

ˌamədītēz

: a genus (the type of the family Ammodytidae) of percomorph fishes containing the typical sand launces

ammodytoid

¦amə¦dīˌtȯid

adjective

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek ammodytēs, a snake, literally, sand burrower, from amm- + dytēs diver, from dyein to enter, get into, sink

First Known Use

circa 1773, in the meaning defined above

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