invertebrate
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L337872 on Wikidata ↗noun
- animal without a spine
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ɪnˈvəːtɪbrət/
adj
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English in- English vertebrate English invertebrate From in- + vertebrate.
- Without a backbone: without vertebrae.
“Tear it up, and put a fragment under the microscope, and, wonder of wonders! see the maze of geometric forms exhibited in the bones of the creature; for who can help regarding the spicules as bones, even though a sponge be invertebrate?”
- Cowardly, uncourageous; lacking character.
“This week Fifa’s morally invertebrate president, Gianni Infantino, gave a speech that attempted to paint his World Cup as a marker of a grand struggle between the bright new world and corrupt old Europe, with Infantino himself the Mandela at its centre.”
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English in- English vertebrate English invertebrate From in- + vertebrate.
- An animal without vertebrae (i.e., without a backbone).
“Yet despite sounding inhospitable, grasslands such as this are home to a huge variety of smaller herbs and wildflowers, including some of the UK's rarest orchids and invertebrates, in addition to being home to butterfly species such as the Chalkhill Blue.”
- A spineless person; a coward.