Dictionary

octopus en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɒktəpʊs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɑktəpəs/ (General-American)
• /ˈɒktəpəs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɑktəpʊs/ (General-American)
• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *oḱtṓw Proto-Hellenic *oktṓ Ancient Greek ὀκτώ (oktṓ) Proto-Indo-European *ped- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *pṓdsder. Ancient Greek πούς (poús) Ancient Greek ὀκτώπους (oktṓpous)bor. Latin octōpūsbor. English octopus Borrowed from Latin octōpūs, from Ancient Greek ὀκτώπους (oktṓpous), from ὀκτώ (oktṓ, “eight”) + πούς (poús, “foot”). Piecewise doublet of octopod and octopede.

Meanings

1. (broadly, countable) Any of several marine molluscs of the order Octopoda, having no internal or external protective shell or bone (unlike the nautilus, squid and cuttlefish) and eight arms each covered with suckers.
   • Even octopuses without stylets almost certainly retain the molecular machinery necessary to build them. 2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 120:
   • In one photograph, a teenaged Leah crouches by a tall cylindrical tank containing what she identified to me as a giant Pacific octopus named Pamela. We were pals, she said, in a voice that I thought seemed to strive for offhandedness, did you know they taste with their skin? Octopuses, I mean. 2022, Julia Armfield, Our Wives Under the Sea, Picador, page 67:
   • In terms of diversity, cephalopods include the egg case making argonauts, shelled nautiluses, venomous blue-ringed octopuses and enigmatic giants like the giant and colossal squid. […] Fossilised ink sacs are more conclusively known from the extinct “soft-bodied” Coleoidea cephalopods in groups Belemitida (including belemnites with bullet-like internal skeletons commonly found as fossils) and Phragmoteuthida as well as from squid, octopus and cuttlefish fossils. 2017 August 9, Mark Carnall, “Why do cephalopods produce ink? And what's ink made of, anyway?”, in The Guardian:
2. (countable, qualifier:strictly) A mollusc from genus Octopus.
3. (uncountable) The flesh of these marine molluscs eaten as food.
4. (countable) An organization that has many powerful branches controlled from the centre.
5. (countable, informal, uncountable) An instance of a player scoring a touchdown immediately followed by a successful two-point conversion, resulting in a total score of eight points.
6. (countable) A safety device allowing divers to share an air supply in an emergency.

Forms

Deriveds

octopusish · octopusial · octopus ink · octopussy · octopusical · dumbo octopus · larger Pacific striped octopus · blanket octopus · blue-ringed octopus · octopamine · gloomy octopus · octopic · octopean · octopusy · octopus hold · sharktopus · glass octopus · umbrella octopus · octopuslike · octopus stretch · octopush · octopod · octopoid · seven-arm octopus · giant octopus · common octopus · octopus strap · octopian · giant Pacific octopus · Kochtopus · occy · mimic octopus · octopusal · octopus bush · octopine · octopoidal · curled octopus · octopus cable · octopusesque · Octopolis · octopus stinkhorn · Turquet's octopus · octopusine · coconut octopus

Relateds

nautilus · calamari · Kraken · cuttlefish · squid · 🐙

Synonyms

polypus

Translations (202)

tr ahtapot (mollusc) · az oktapod (mollusc) · fj kuita (mollusc) · de Oktopus (mollusc) · el χταπόδι (mollusc) · os асткъахыг (mollusc) · ady псылъэхъу (mollusc) · ota آختاپود (mollusc) · nb blekksprut (mollusc) · bo ཆུ་སྲིན་ལག་བརྒྱད (mollusc) · qu pulpu (mollusc) · pau bukitang (mollusc) · it polpo (mollusc) · kxd sutung (mollusc) · jv gurita (mollusc) · ia octopode (mollusc) · ko 낙지 (mollusc) · sm fe'e (mollusc) · scn purpu (mollusc) · ceb kugita (mollusc) · fa هشتپا (mollusc) · zza ahtapot (diq) (mollusc) · gv hoght-choshagh (mollusc) · ml നീരാളി (mollusc) · tk sekizaýak (mollusc) · zu ingwane (mollusc) · my ဘဝဲ (mollusc) · rcf zourit (mollusc) · nl octopus (mollusc) · zza heştpa (diq) (mollusc) · ja 蛸 (mollusc) · gl polbo (mollusc) · str SḴI¸MEQ (mollusc) · be васьміно́г (mollusc) · ik nipitchaq (mollusc) · cy nieidiol (mollusc) · gd ochd-chasach (mollusc) · sl hobotnica (mollusc) · nuk tiiłuup (mollusc) · mk октопо́д (mollusc) · nb akkar (mollusc) · ug سەككىز ئاياغ (mollusc) · mt qarnit (mollusc) · war kugita (mollusc) · et tindikala (mollusc) · ja タコ (mollusc) · uz sakkizoyoq (mollusc) · hur qéymeqw' (mollusc) · eo polpo (mollusc) · oaa askuttu (mollusc) · mi wheke (mollusc) · nl kraak (mollusc) · mg orita (mollusc) · km រពីងសមុទ្រ (mollusc) · cmn 章魚 /章鱼 (mollusc) · acw أَخْطَبُوط (mollusc) · sw pweza mkubwa (mollusc) · ty fee (mollusc) · or ଅକ୍ଟୋପସ (mollusc) · grc πολύπους (mollusc) · sh осмоног (mollusc) · kk сегізаяқ (mollusc) · mg horita (mollusc) · sh hòbotnica (mollusc) · th หมึกยักษ์ (mollusc) · ru спрут (mollusc) · pon kihs (mollusc) · dz ཚིཝ་ར་རྡུགས (mollusc) · lv astoņkājis (mollusc) · kw kollell lesa (mollusc) · sh хо̀ботница (mollusc) · eu olagarro (mollusc) · gv oghtapus (mollusc) · ems amikuq (mollusc) · nn blekksprut (mollusc) · fo áttermdur (mollusc) · uk восьмині́г (mollusc) · bn অক্টোপাস (mollusc) · uk спрут (mollusc) · he תמנון \ תְּמָנוּן (mollusc) · vo loktop (mollusc) · pau bokitang (mollusc) · sq ledhone (mollusc) · ms kurita (mollusc) · br morgazh (mollusc) · sq oktapod (mollusc) · lo ປາມຶກ (mollusc) · te ఆక్టోపస్ (mollusc) · sei hapaj (mollusc) · pt polvo (mollusc) · sh osmonog (mollusc) · so farammugo (mollusc) · it piovra (mollusc) · hi अष्टबाहु (mollusc) · hi ऑक्टोपस (mollusc) · cy wythgoes (mollusc) · nan-hbl 章魚 /章鱼 (mollusc) · sk osmonoh (mollusc) · hy ութոտնուկ (mollusc) · fa اختاپوس (mollusc) · et seepia (mollusc) · de Krake (mollusc) · is kolkrabbi (mollusc) · si බූවල්ලා (mollusc) · ilo kurita (mollusc) · ar أَخْطَبُوط (mollusc) · ko 문어 (mollusc) · sat ᱚᱠᱴᱚᱯᱚᱥ (mollusc) · ca pop (mollusc) · it ottopode (mollusc) · kmr axtapot (mollusc) · ary زايس (mollusc) · cy octopws (mollusc) · zu imbambela (mollusc) · ur آکٹوپس (mollusc) · mrw kogita (mollusc) · ce бархӏкогберг (mollusc) · az səkkizayaq (mollusc) · vi bạch tuộc (mollusc) · ht pyèv (mollusc) · ms sotong gurita (mollusc) · nn akkar (mollusc) · fi tursas (mollusc) · ary روطالة (mollusc) · msk kogita (mollusc) · lt aštuonkojis (mollusc) · sv bläckfisk (mollusc) · sc pruppu (mollusc) · az osminoq (mollusc) · to feke (mollusc) · ckb ھەشتپێ (mollusc) · ro caracatiță (mollusc) · grc ὀκτώπους (mollusc) · nrf pövr (mollusc) · kmr heştpê (mollusc) · ms gurita (mollusc) · ky сегиз бут (mollusc) · km អដ្ឋករ (mollusc) · uli giit (mollusc) · pri éa (mollusc) · chr ᎠᏓᏢᎢ (mollusc) · sw pweza (mollusc) · kmr heştling (mollusc) · ar أُخْطُبُوط (mollusc) · tpi urita (mollusc) · pl ośmiornica (mollusc) · ta சாக்குக்கணவாய் (mollusc) · hu polip (mollusc) · hai núugyaa (mollusc) · yue 章魚 /章鱼 (mollusc) · cs chobotnice (mollusc) · tg ҳаштпо (mollusc) · ajp أَخْطَبُوط (mollusc) · ru осьмино́г (mollusc) · nv łóóʼ bigaan tseebíí (mollusc) · tl salabay (mollusc) · da ottearmet blæksprutte (mollusc) · la polypūs (mollusc) · or ଅଷ୍ଟବାହୁ (mollusc) · fr poulpe (mollusc) · ja 章魚 (mollusc) · vo polüp (mollusc) · sk chobotnica (mollusc) · fo áttaermdur høgguslokkur (mollusc) · alu kari (mollusc) · yue 八爪魚 /八爪鱼 (mollusc) · ary أَخْطَبُوط (mollusc) · haw heʻe (mollusc) · ms doyak (mollusc) · nap purpo (mollusc) · yi אָקטאָפּוס (mollusc) · ur ہَشْت پا (mollusc) · nrf pieuvre (mollusc) · et kaheksajalg (mollusc) · ka რვაფეხა (mollusc) · bg октопо́д (mollusc) · rap hehe (mollusc) · de Tintenfisch (mollusc) · na dogiga (mollusc) · kn ಆಕ್ಟೊಪಸ್ಸು (mollusc) · ne अक्टोपस (mollusc) · ar قَرْنِيط (mollusc) · nl inktvis (mollusc) · ast pulpu (mollusc) · ill kurita' (mollusc) · pa ਤੰਦੂਆ (mollusc) · bi nawita (mollusc) · es pulpo (mollusc) · akl kugita (mollusc) · su gurita (mollusc) · ga ochtapas (mollusc) · sq tetëkëmbësh (mollusc) · io polpo (mollusc) · af seekat (mollusc) · oc pofre (mollusc) · tl pugita (mollusc) · la octopūs (mollusc) · or କୁମୁଟିମୁଣା (mollusc) · fr pieuvre (mollusc) · ar أَخْطَبُوط (mollusc) · mn наймалж (mollusc) · id gurita (mollusc)

wikipedia: Singapore · wikipedia: southern blue-ringed octopus · wikidata: Q40152

octopus en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈɒktəpʊs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɑktəpəs/ (General-American)
• /ˈɒktəpəs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɑktəpʊs/ (General-American)
• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *oḱtṓw Proto-Hellenic *oktṓ Ancient Greek ὀκτώ (oktṓ) Proto-Indo-European *ped- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *pṓdsder. Ancient Greek πούς (poús) Ancient Greek ὀκτώπους (oktṓpous)bor. Latin octōpūsbor. English octopus Borrowed from Latin octōpūs, from Ancient Greek ὀκτώπους (oktṓpous), from ὀκτώ (oktṓ, “eight”) + πούς (poús, “foot”). Piecewise doublet of octopod and octopede.

Meanings

1. To put (or attempt to put) one's fingers, hands or arms in many things or places at roughly the same time.
   • A skinny, sauced-looking gent in shorts and baseball cap wandered in through the door, his arms octopussing no less than three pre-teen girls. 2006, Stuart Lloyd, Gone Troppo: Hot Babes, Warm Weather, Cold Beer. Paradise!:
   • I took off my shirt, standing in swim trunks, embarrassed of my tour body, my hands octopussing around the ashamed drink tickets of my gut. 2018, Derrick C. Brown, Hello. It Doesn't Matter.:
   • He rises up on his wasted legs, the healer's hands octopussed on his head. 1994, Susan Ketchin, The Christ-haunted Landscape:
2. To spread out in long arms or legs in many directions.
   • He had attached three more on so now there were seven legs octopussing out from underneath the chair. 2002, Susan Goyette, Lures: A Novel, page 224:
   • The main house was a sprawling gray two-story structure with breezeways connecting it to the dining hall and another large wing, making it look like it had outgrown itself and octopused to the other spaces. 2013, Jesse Hayworth, Jessica Andersen, Summer at Mustang Ridge:
   • Dirt roads octopussed into the interior, where there were more dried mud and shrivelled crops. 1997, The Unesco Courier - Volume 50, Issues 1-6, page 33:
   • The bug-eyed press octopussed to their respective word processors. 1995, Donald A. Weatherby, The Star-Spangled Specter, page 105:
3. To plug a large number of devices into a single electric outlet.
   • If they're all for a single indoor tree, caution against "octopusing" of cords from other cords, and the use of a number of cords in a single receptacle. 1963, Hardware Age - Volume 203, Issues 7-10, page 88:
   • By now, the reservation had electricity so THAT had to be octopussed out to the trailers too. 1985, Ted C. Williams, The Reservation, page 206:
   • It was an eight-channel audio recording snake, a bundled set of cables with eight plugs octopussing out of either end. 2011, Richard Sanders, Dead Heat, page 74:
   • The three electrical outlets I could see—though located six feet above the ground, beyond all their little reaches—were octopussed with what looked like more plugs than the circuits could handle. 2010, Arthur Nersesian, Mesopotamia, page 53:
4. (broadly) To grow in use vastly beyond what was originally intended.
   • The interlocking business organizations have octopussed beyond all imagining in recent years; they are intermingled with citizens' union-smashing committees and women's strikebreaking “patriotic” groups, such as Neutral Thousands and Women of the Pacific. 1937, Fight Against War and Fascism - Volumes 5-6, page 34:
   • The performance of it, however, did not improve, being octopussed by centuries-old not-to-move bureaucracy. 1993, Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Growth and development of small enterprise, page 92:
   • Judging by the way that Boots was octopussing himself into the world of the stud farm and mastering the intricacies of thoroughbred financing, he was well on his way to raping Sport of Kings. 2000, Murray Bromberg, The Wagers of Sin, page 102:
   • The course of study should be rooted in a survey of the needs of the community and not "octopussed" from swivel chair courses of study prepared for other areas. 1978, William Edward Field, A Review of the Undergraduate Program in Agricultural Education at the University of Minnesota, 1977, page 349:
   • The busy man will do two things at once in his office; and with a little forethought he can practise what psychologist Freeman calls "brain octopussing" at home, too. 1953, Dun's Review and Modern Industry, volume 62, August-December 1953, page 256:
5. To hunt and catch octopuses.
   • The sport could be called octopusing or octopus hunting— and any number may play. Supposing you catch an octopus, what do you have? 1956, Travel - Volume 105, page 46:
   • The municipal council assigned food quotas to each section and family contributions within sections. People spent the days before the visit fishing, octopusing, digging taro, cooking, and cleaning public spaces. 1993, Poyer Lin, NGATIK MASSACRE PB, page 163:
   • CRABBING AND OCTOPUSSING: Use the same method whether you skindive for crabs and octopi or gather them intertidally. 1977, Peter Howorth, Foraging Along the California Coast, Capra Press, →ISBN, page 97:
6. To behave like an octopus.
   • It was quite a conincidence for a mechanical sea creature and he was speculating whether it could possibly have been done on purpose when Katsu stole his other sock and flopped on to the floor with an unbiological bang, whereupon it octopused out of the open door and slid down the banister. 2015, Natasha Pulley, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street:
   • Night fell especially dark and cold for August, inky blackness tendrilling in, octopussing even the street lamps, now dim with vague form. 1995, Donald A. Weatherby, The Star-Spangled Specter, page 77:
   • “Strangled in the middle of the night by one of Molly's eight legs.” “Mo-om!” Molly kicked Robin in the shins. “Owww!” Robin lunged against the door. “I've been octopused!” 2009, Becky Citra, Whiteout, page 20:

Forms

Translations (1)

pon seikihs (to fish or hunt for octopuses)

wikipedia: Singapore · wikipedia: southern blue-ringed octopus