collembolan
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Related to collembolan: springtail
col·lem·bo·lan
(kə-lĕm′bə-lən)n.
See springtail.
[coll(o)- + Greek embolos, peg, stopper; see embolus.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
collembolan
(kəˈlɛmbələn)n
(Animals) any small primitive wingless insect of the order Collembola, which comprises the springtails
adj
(Animals) of, relating to, or belonging to the Collembola
[C19: from New Latin Collembola, from Greek kolla glue + embolon peg, wedge]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
col•lem•bo•lan
(kəˈlɛm bə lən)adj.
1. Also, col•lem′bo•lous. belonging or pertaining to the insect order Collembola, comprising the springtails.
n. 2. a collembolan insect; springtail.
[1870; < New Latin Collembol(a) (< Greek kóll(a) glue + émbolon wedge; see embolus)]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. |  collembolan - any of numerous minute wingless primitive insects possessing a special abdominal appendage that allows the characteristic nearly perpetual springing pattern; found in soil rich in organic debris or on the surface of snow or waterinsect - small air-breathing arthropod Collembola, order Collembola - minute wingless arthropods: springtails |
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