Plants & CreaturesGreek → English
Isopod
/ˈaɪsəpɒd/noun
A flattened crustacean whose legs are all much alike, including woodlice and sea slaters.
The Greek roots
ἴσος
ísos
equal, same
πούς
poús
foot
Literally: “equal-footed”
The story of the word
The name is a contrast, not a description: unlike a lobster, which converts its front legs into claws, an isopod keeps every pair looking the same. Woodlice are the group's one real success on land, breathing through modified gills that still need damp. At the other end sits Bathynomus giganteus, a deep-sea isopod the size of a cat, which is a woodlouse in every structural sense.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → New Latin → English
- First recorded
- 1830s
Same family
decapodisoscelesisobarpodiumamphipod
In a sentence
Lift any damp log in the garden and a dozen isopods scatter.