Real Words Without Definition
We're sure about this one.
The Latin name of a group of plants or animals.
The naming system runs on endings, which is why there are so many. -idae is an animal family, -aceae a plant family, -inae a subfamily, -ales an order. achetidae is the crickets, acraeinae is a group of butterflies, agalenidae is the funnel-weaver spiders.
They are capitalised in real use but arrive here in lower case like everything else.
2,849 words · sorted A to Z · each with a line on why it is here
Matches the word itself, not the note beside it. Case does not matter.
| Word, sorted Z to A | What it names |
|---|---|
| orthopoda | former zoological group, "straight-footed" |
| orthopteroidea | superorder of orthopteroid insects |
| ortyginae | subfamily of the New World quails |
| oryssidae | family of parasitic wood wasps |
| oscarella | genus of primitive sponges |
| oscarellidae | family of sponges |
| oscillaria | genus of blue-green algae |
| oscillariaceae | family of blue-green algae |
| oscinidae | family of frit flies |
| osphromenidae | family of gouramis |
| ostariophyseae | fishes with Weberian ossicles (Ostariophysi) |
| osteolepidae | family of fossil lobe-finned fishes |
| osteostraci | order of fossil jawless armored fishes |
| ostertagia | genus of stomach nematodes of ruminants |
| ostracodermi | group of fossil armored jawless fishes |
| ostracoidea | superfamily of ostracod crustaceans |
| ostracophori | group of shell-bearing fossil fishes |
| ostraeacea | superfamily of oysters |
| otariinae | subfamily of eared seals |
| otides | group name for the bustards |
| otiorhynchidae | family of broad-nosed weevils |
| otiorhynchinae | subfamily of broad-nosed weevils |
| otogyps | genus of Old World vultures |
| otolithidae | family of fossil fish otoliths |
| otolithus | genus of sciaenid fishes |
| oudenodon | genus of fossil dicynodont reptiles |
| ovibovinae | bovid subfamily of the musk-ox |
| ovidae | former family name of the sheep |
| oxylabracidae | family of perch-like fishes |
| oxylabrax | genus of sea-bass fishes |
| oxyrrhyncha | group of spider crabs |
| oxystomata | group of sharp-mouthed crabs |
| pachylophus | genus of evening primroses; also a fly genus |
| pachyma | fungus genus, the tuckahoe |
| pagiopoda | hemipteran group, the fixed-footed bugs |
| paguridea | crustacean group of hermit crabs |
| pagurinea | crustacean group of hermit crabs |
| palaeechini | group of fossil sea urchins |
| palaeichthyes | group of primitive fishes |
| palaeoanthropus | genus term for an early type of man |
| palaeocarida | group of fossil crustaceans |
| palaeoconcha | group of fossil bivalve molluscs |
| palaeocrinoidea | order of fossil crinoids |
| palaeodictyoptera | order of primitive fossil insects |
| palaeomastodon | genus of fossil proboscideans |
| palaeonemertea | order of primitive nemertean worms |
| palaeonemertinea | order of nemertean worms |
| palaeonemertini | order of nemertean worms |
| palaeoniscidae | family of fossil ray-finned fishes |
| palaeoniscus | genus of fossil ray-finned fishes |
| palaeornis | genus of Old World parakeets |
| palaeornithinae | subfamily of parrots |
| palaeostraca | group of fossil merostome crustaceans |
| palaeothentes | genus of fossil marsupials |
| palaeothentidae | family of fossil marsupials |
| palaeotheriidae | family of fossil perissodactyls |
| palamedea | genus of screamer birds |
| palamedeidae | family of screamer birds |
| paleoanthropus | proposed genus of fossil man |
| paleoconcha | group of primitive fossil bivalves |
| palliobranchiata | group of brachiopods |
| palpicornia | group of water beetles |
| pandarctos | fossil bear genus |
| panorpatae | group of scorpionflies |
| pantastomatida | order of flagellate protozoa |
| pantastomina | group of flagellate protozoa |
| pantostomata | order of flagellate protozoa |
| papayaceae | plant family of the papaya |
| papilionides | butterfly group of the Papilionidae |
| paradiseidae | family of birds of paradise |
| paradiseinae | subfamily of birds of paradise |
| paradisia | plant genus, St Bruno's lily |
| paramecidae | family of ciliates, the Paramecium group |
| parapsida | subclass of fossil reptiles |
| parasitidae | family of mites |
| parasuchia | order of fossil reptiles, the phytosaurs |
| parcidenta | zoological group of few-toothed mammals |
| pardanthus | former plant genus, the blackberry lily |
| pareiasauri | fossil reptile group, the pareiasaurs |
| pareiasauria | order of fossil reptiles |
| pareioplitae | group of mail-cheeked fishes |
| pariasauria | order of fossil reptiles, Pareiasauria |
| pariasaurus | genus of fossil reptiles, Pareiasaurus |
| parridae | family of birds, the jacanas |
| passiflorales | plant order of the passionflowers |
| pasteurellae | plural of the bacterial genus Pasteurella |
| pasteurelleae | tribe of bacteria of the Pasteurella group |
| paurometabola | insect division with gradual metamorphosis |
| paussidae | family of ant's-nest beetles, Paussidae |
| paxillosa | order of starfishes, Paxillosa |
| pectinacea | superfamily of scallops, Pectinacea |
| pectinatella | genus of freshwater bryozoans |
| pectinibranchia | order of comb-gilled gastropods |
| pectinibranchiata | gastropod order Pectinibranchiata |
| pedetinae | subfamily of springhares, Pedetinae |
| pediculati | order of anglerfishes, Pediculati |
| pediculina | group of true lice, Pediculina |
| pedimana | Pedimana, Cuvier's hand-footed marsupials |
| pediococci | plural of the bacterial genus Pediococcus |
| pedioecetes | genus of prairie hens, Pedioecetes |
The other lists filed alongside this one.
