sea lily

American

noun

a stalked, sessile crinoid.

sea lily British

noun

any of various sessile echinoderms, esp of the genus Ptilocrinus, in which the body consists of a long stalk attached to a hard surface and bearing a central disc with delicate radiating arms: class Crinoidea (crinoids)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of sea lily

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When the ROV returns, there is an excited dash for the samples including seawater, sediment and a forearm-length sea lily coated with dripping orange goo.

From Barron's

The self-declared "fossil geek" said he came across some unusual-looking fragments which turned out to be pieces of sea lily - an underwater species related to starfish and sea urchins - in a piece of chalk.

From BBC

She mostly finds Gryphaea, ancestors of the oyster, but she also has ammonites, belemnites and sea lilies — all ancient sea dwellers.

From Washington Post

“They’ve got this beautiful, ornate crown cup, and little, tiny featherlike projections sticking out of them,” Mr. Hollingworth said, describing the sea lily fossil.

From New York Times

It is in fact a great mass of fossil arms from who knows how many sea lilies.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023