pol·yp

[pol-ip]
noun
1.
Zoology.
a.
a sedentary type of animal form characterized by a more or less fixed base, columnar body, and free end with mouth and tentacles, especially as applied to coelenterates.
b.
an individual zooid of a compound or colonial organism.
2.
Pathology. a projecting growth from a mucous surface, as of the nose, being either a tumor or a hypertrophy of the mucous membrane.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English polip, short for polipus nasal tumor (later, also cephalopod, now obsolete) < Medieval Latin, Latin pōlypus < dialectal Greek poulýpous octopus, nasal tumor (Attic polýpous, genitive polýpodos; see poly-, -pod)

Related forms
pol·yp·ous, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Polyp is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
polyp (ˈpɒlɪp) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  zoology Compare medusa one of the two forms of individual that occur in coelenterates. It usually has a hollow cylindrical body with a ring of tentacles around the mouth
2.  pathol Also called: polypus a small vascularized growth arising from the surface of a mucous membrane, having a rounded base or a stalklike projection
 
[C16 polip, from French polype nasal polyp, from Latin pōlypus sea animal, nasal polyp, from Greek polupous having many feet]
 
'polypous
 
—adj
 
'polypoid
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

polyp
c.1400, "nasal tumor," from L. polypus "cuttlefish," also "nasal tumor," from Gk. (Doric, Aeolic) polypos "octopus, cuttlefish," from polys "many" (see plenary) + pous "foot." Sense extended 1742 to hydras and sea anemones (earlier polypus, c.1520).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

polyp pol·yp (pŏl'ĭp)
n.
A usually nonmalignant growth of tissue protruding from the mucous lining of an organ such as the nose, bladder, or intestine, often causing obstruction. Also called polypus.

pol'yp·oid' adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
polyp   (pŏl'ĭp)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A cnidarian in its sedentary stage. polyps have hollow, tube-shaped bodies with a central mouth on top surrounded by tentacles. Some cnidarians, such as corals and sea anemones, only exist as polyps after their larval stage, while others turn into medusas as adults or lack a polyp stage completely. Compare medusa.

  2. An abnormal growth extending from a mucous membrane, as of the intestine.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences from the web
An endometrial polyp or uterine polyp is a big lump in the inner lining of the uterus.
These structures grow vertically and project into the base of the polyp.
Typically a polyp will harbor one particular species of algae.
It occurs when a new corallite grows out from the adult polyp.
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