glochidium Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a barbed spine or bristle (often tufted on cacti)
    glochid.

WordNet

Glo*chid"i*um noun
Etymology
NL., fr. Gr. the point of an arrow.
Wordforms
plural Glochidia
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) The larva or young of the mussel, formerly thought to be a parasite upon the parent's gills.

Webster 1913