Pleopod

Alternative forms

• pleiopod, pleiopus, pleopus

Origin

-("swimming") + -o- + -("foot")

Full definition of pleopod

Noun

1. (zoology) One of the abdominal legs of a crustacean.In decapods such as lobsters, pleopods are legs mainly used for swimming but sometimes used for brooding eggs or catching food. In some species certain pleopods of an animal may have been adapted to special functions such as reproduction.