Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
< /gæˈstrɒp ə dəs/. belonging or pertaining to the gastropods.
noun
- any mollusc of the class Gastropoda, typically having a flattened muscular foot for locomotion and a head that bears stalked eyes. The class includes the snails, whelks, limpets, and slugs
adjective
- of, relating to, or belonging to the Gastropoda
1826, gasteropod (modern spelling by 1854), from Modern Latin Gasteropoda, name of a class of mollusks, from Greek gaster (genitive gastros) “stomach” (see gastric) + pous (genitive podos) “foot” (see foot (n.)). From the ventral position of the mollusk’s “foot.”
- Any of various carnivorous or herbivorous mollusks of the class Gastropoda, having a head with eyes and feelers and a muscular foot on the underside of its body with which it moves. Most gastropods are aquatic, but some have adapted to life on land. Gastropods include snails, which have a coiled shell, and slugs, which have a greatly reduced shell or none at all.