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po·go·noph·o·ran

(pō′gə-nŏfər-ən) also po·gon·o·phore

(pō-gŏnə-fôr′)

Any of various marine annelid tubeworms of the family Siboglinidae (formerly classified in the phylum Pogonophora) that live in deep-sea habitats, often have numerous tentacles, and lack a digestive system, depending on endosymbiotic bacteria for nutrition.

[From New Latin Pōgōnophora, former phylum name (so called in reference to the characteristic beardlike mass of filamentous tentacles at the tubeworms' anterior end) : Greek pōgōn, beard (of unknown origin) + Greek -phora, neuter pl. of -phoros, -phore.]

po′go·nopho·ran adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

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Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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