1 noctiluca | Definition of noctiluca

noctiluca

noun
noc·​ti·​lu·​ca | \ ËŒnäktəˈlükÉ™\

Definition of noctiluca

1 plural -s, obsolete : phosphor sense 2
2 capitalized [ New Latin, from Latin, moon ] : a genus of marine plantlike flagellates (order Dinoflagellata) that are unusually large, complex in structure, and bioluminescent and that when present in numbers are responsible for much of the phosphorescence of the sea
3 plural noctilucas\ -​kÉ™z\ or noctilucae\ -​üˌsÄ“\ : any organism of the genus Noctiluca

History and Etymology for noctiluca

New Latin, from Latin, moon, lantern, from nocti- noct- + -luca, from lucēre to shine (noun)

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