autotomy
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English
Etymology
From auto- + -tomy, after German Autotomie or French autotomie.
Pronunciation
Noun
autotomy (countable and uncountable, plural autotomies)
- (chiefly zoology) The spontaneous removal of a limb, tail etc, especially by some invertebrates as a self-defense mechanism.
- 1990, Camille Paglia, Sexual Personae:
- She has dropped it by autotomy, like the tail or claw of a fleeing lizard, lobster, or starfish.
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations
invertebrate self-defense mechanism
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