Definition of Centipede

1. Noun. Chiefly nocturnal predacious arthropod having a flattened body of 15 to 173 segments each with a pair of legs, the foremost pair being modified as prehensors.

Generic synonyms: Arthropod
Group relationships: Chilopoda, Class Chilopoda
Specialized synonyms: House Centipede, Scutigera Coleoptrata

Definition of Centipede

1. Noun. A segmented arthropod of class ''Chilopoda'' with a large number of legs, traditionally one hundred (though most species have far fewer.) ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Centipede

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Centipede

1. A venomous predatory arthropod of the order Chilopoda, characterised by one pair of legs per leg-bearing segment. The venom is injected through the first pair of leg-like appendages, modified into piercing claws; the bites may be painful and locally necrotic, but seldom are dangerous, except to very young children. Genera found in the U.S. Include Scutigera, Lithobius, Scolopendra, and Geophilus. Origin: L. Centum, hundred, + pes (ped-), foot (05 Mar 2000)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Centipede

centimeter-gram-second unit
centimeters
centimetre
centimetres
centimetric
centimo
centimorgan
centimorgans
centimos
centinel
centinels
centinewton
centinewtons
centinormal
centiped
centipede (current term)
centipedes
centipeds
centipoise
centipoises
centisecond
centiseconds
centistere
centisteres
centistoke
centistokes
centner
centners

Literary usage of Centipede

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University by Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology (1910)
"MYRIAPODA Representations of a centipede (probably a species of Scolopendra) occur in the Dresden Codex and in several others examined. That shown in PI. ..."

2. The House Fly, Disease Carrier: An Account of Its Dangerous Activities and by Leland Ossian Howard (1911)
"... been called the skein centipede, since when crushed its long legs look like a mass of threads. This creature, as has been shown by Marlatt (1896), ..."

3. Sanitary Entomology: The Entomology of Disease, Hygiene and Sanitation by William Dwight Pierce (1921)
"centipede POISONING The centipedes, on account of their large size and many sharp ... It is a common saying that when a centipede grips hold of a person, ..."

4. Africa from South to North Through Marotseland by Alfred St. Hill Gibbons (1904)
"CHAPTER II Goods trans-shipped to river steamer centipede at Chinde—First trial of Constance in African waters — centipede casts her moorings on July 18, ..."

5. A Treatise on human physiology by John Call Dalton (1871)
"A very good example of this type may be found in the common centipede, or scolopendra. Here the body is composed of twenty-two successive and nearly similar ..."

6. Five Years' Residence in the West Indies by Charles William Day (1852)
"THE centipede AND THE ANTS A NIGHT OP ADVENTURES GOVERNOR PICTON OFFICIAL ... Certes, nothing was left to show that a centipede had ever been there; ..."

7. The Life and Adventures of a Quaker Among the Indians by Thomas C. Battey (1876)
"centipede. — SCORPION RATTLESNAKE.— BIG BOW. — RAIDING PARTY OF COMANCHES STOPPED. — VISIT TO WICHITA AGENCY. ^fh Month, 4th. — After taking leave of Agent ..."

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