/ English Dictionary |
COWRIE
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Any of numerous tropical marine gastropods of the genus Cypraea having highly polished usually brightly marked shells
Synonyms:
cowrie; cowry
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("cowrie" is a kind of...):
gastropod; univalve (a class of mollusks typically having a one-piece coiled shell and flattened muscular foot with a head bearing stalked eyes)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cowrie"):
Cypraea moneta; money cowrie (cowrie whose shell is used for money in parts of the southern Pacific and in parts of Africa)
Cypraea tigris; tiger cowrie (cowrie whose shell is used for ornament)
Holonyms ("cowrie" is a member of...):
Cypraea; genus Cypraea (type genus of the family Cypraeidae: the typical cowries)