entry
tellinidae
/ˌtɛlɪˈnaɪdiː/A family of marine bivalve molluscs
From Greek, probably transmitted through Latin Tellin- (A kind of shellfish).
Word Ancestry
Picture a shellfish buried in shallow-sea sediment, breathing through long siphons that reach the water above: that is the sort of animal the family name gathers together. The first part, Tellin-, comes from the genus name Tellina, commonly connected with Ancient Greek τελλίνη, a name for a kind of shellfish; the exact path is not certain. The ending -idae is a zoological family suffix descended from Greek -ίδαι, a form that marks a group or lineage. It gives Tellinidae the same taxonomic family-shaped ending seen in names such as Canidae and Hominidae. So the name is, in effect, an old shellfish name wearing a formal label for its extended family.
The Story
Picture a shellfish buried in shallow-sea sediment, breathing through long siphons that reach the water above: that is the sort of animal the family name gathers together. The first part, Tellin-, comes from the genus name Tellina, commonly connected with Ancient Greek τελλίνη, a name for a kind of shellfish; the exact path is not certain. The ending -idae is a zoological family suffix descended from Greek -ίδαι, a form that marks a group or lineage. It gives Tellinidae the same taxonomic family-shaped ending seen in names such as Canidae and Hominidae. So the name is, in effect, an old shellfish name wearing a formal label for its extended family.
Kin & Kindred
From 'Tellin-'·A kind of shellfish; the precise derivation is uncertain
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From '-idae'·A suffix used for zoological families
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Wikipedia