Word.ws English Dictionary

hectocotylus

hectocotylus noun: a modified arm of any of several male cephalopods that functions as a reproductive organ by transferring sperm to the mantle of the female.

Noun

hectocotylus (plural hectocotyli)

  1. A modified arm of any of several male cephalopods that functions as a reproductive organ by transferring sperm to the mantle of the female.
    • When not in use, the male's hectocotylus hides in a pouch, leaving him to go about his business with only seven arms.2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 170
    • The hectocotylus, like many other genitals, is made of soft tissues which are unlikely to be fossilised.2018 January 24, Elsa Panciroli, The Guardian

Forms of hectocotylus

pluralhectocotyli

Origin of hectocotylus

From New Latin, corresponding to hecto- + Ancient Greek κότυλος (kótulos, “small cup”).

Words formed from hectocotylus

Questions about hectocotylus

What does hectocotylus mean?
Hectocotylus means a modified arm of any of several male cephalopods that functions as a reproductive organ by transferring sperm to the mantle of the female.
What part of speech is hectocotylus?
Hectocotylus is a noun.
What is the plural of hectocotylus?
The plural of hectocotylus is hectocotyli.

Words near hectocotylus in the dictionary

  1. hectocotyli
  2. hectocotyliferous
  3. hectocotylised
  4. hectocotylization
  5. hectocotylized
  6. hectocotylus
  7. hectocotyly
  8. hectogon
  9. hectogons
  10. hectogram
  11. hectogramme

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hectocotylus (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “hectocotylus.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hectocotylus. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.