obelia

noun

obe·​lia ō-ˈbēl-yə 

: any of a genus (Obelia) of small colonial marine hydroids with colonies branched like trees

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, genus name, probably from Greek obelós "spit, four-sided pillar" + New Latin -ia -ia entry 1 — more at obelus

Note: Name introduced by the French naturalist François Péron (1775-1810) and the naturalist and artist Charles Alexandre Lesueur (1778-1846) in "Tableau des caractères génériques et spécifiques de toutes les espèces des Méduses connues jusqu'à ce jour," Annales du Muséum d'histoire naturelle, tome 14 (1809), p. 355. The authors give no indication of the name's etymology, though they refer to a conical appendage at the apex of the medusa's body ("un appendice conique au sommet de l'ombrelle") that may be the obelós in question.

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

obelia

noun

obe·​lia ō-ˈbēl-yə 

: any of a genus of small marine hydroids that form colonies branched like trees