Standard Lemma guide

copepod

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈkoʊpɪpɒd/

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of very many small crustaceans of the subclass Copepoda; they are widely distributed and ecologically important.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

minute marine or freshwater crustaceans usually having six pairs of limbs on the thorax; some abundant in plankton and others parasitic on fish

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: copepod crustacean

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: crustacean

Narrower terms: brit, britt, cyclops, water flea, fish louse

History

Etymology

Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Copepoda.

Across languages

Translations

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 橈足 /桡足 (ráozú) — any of very many small crustaceans, of the subclass Copepoda
  • Finnish: hankajalkainen — any of very many small crustaceans, of the subclass Copepoda
  • French: copépode — any of very many small crustaceans, of the subclass Copepoda
  • German: Ruderfußkrebs — any of very many small crustaceans, of the subclass Copepoda
  • Greek: κωπήποδο (kopípodo) — any of very many small crustaceans, of the subclass Copepoda
  • Greek: κωπήποδα (kopípoda) — any of very many small crustaceans, of the subclass Copepoda
  • Greenlandic: illeraq — any of very many small crustaceans, of the subclass Copepoda
  • Hungarian: evezőlábú rákok — any of very many small crustaceans, of the subclass Copepoda
  • Japanese: 橈脚 (kaiashi) — any of very many small crustaceans, of the subclass Copepoda
  • Polish: widłonóg — any of very many small crustaceans, of the subclass Copepoda
  • Portuguese: copépode — any of very many small crustaceans, of the subclass Copepoda
  • Romanian: copepod — any of very many small crustaceans, of the subclass Copepoda