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limpets

 - 3 dictionary results

lim⋅pet

  [lim-pit]
–noun
any of various marine gastropods with a low conical shell open beneath, often browsing on rocks at the shoreline and adhering when disturbed.
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Origin:
bef. 1050; ME lempet, OE lempedu, nasalized var. of *lepedu < L lepada, acc. of lepas < Gk lepás limpet
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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lim·pet   (lĭm'pĭt)   
n.  

  1. Any of numerous marine gastropod mollusks, as of the families Acmaeidae and Patellidae, characteristically having a conical shell and adhering to rocks of tidal areas.

  2. One that clings persistently.

  3. A type of explosive designed to cling to the hull of a ship and detonate on contact or signal.


[Possibly Middle English lempet, European limpet (sense uncertain).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

limpet 
O.E. lempedu, from M.L. lampreda "limpet" (see lamprey).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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