Word Study
invertebrate
CIDE DICTIONARY
invertebrate, a.
Destitute of a backbone; having no vertebræ; of or pertaining to the Invertebrata. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
invertebrate, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 (of an animal) not having a backbone.
2 lacking firmness of character.
--n. an invertebrate animal.
--adj.
1 (of an animal) not having a backbone.
2 lacking firmness of character.
--n. an invertebrate animal.
Etymology
mod.L invertebrata (pl.) (as IN-(1), VERTEBRA)
THESAURUS
invertebrate
Milquetoast, abulic, afraid, amphibian, aquatic, baby, big baby, biped, canine, cannibal, carnivore, chicken, chicken liver, cosmopolite, coward, cowardly, crustacean, crustaceous, crybaby, disorganized, doormat, dull tool, emasculate, faint, fainthearted, feeble, feebleminded, feline, forceless, fraid-cat, fraidy-cat, frail, funk, funker, gnawer, gutless wonder, herbivore, impotent, inadequate, ineffective, ineffectual, infirm, insectivore, jellyfish, lightweight, lily liver, mammal, mammalian, marsupial, marsupialian, meek soul, milksop, molluscan, mollycoddle, mouse, namby-pamby, nebbish, nonentity, omnivore, pansy, pantywaist, pliable, primate, protozoan, protozoic, pushover, quadruped, reptile, rodent, ruminant, sad sack, scaredy-cat, scavenger, sissy, softling, softy, sop, spineless, ungulate, varmint, vermin, vertebrate, weak, weak sister, weak-kneed, weak-minded, weak-willed, weakling, white feather, white liverFor further exploring for "invertebrate" in Webster Dictionary Online