radiole

Meaning

Noun

• The spine of a sea urchin.
• A heavily ciliated feather-like tentacle occuring in clusters on the crowns of certain tubeworms, especially those of the order Canalipalpata (the fan-head worm), used for feeding and respiration.

Origin

• (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *-lós). The word first appears in the works of Scottish natural historian and marine zoologist Charles Wyville Thomson (1830–1882).