hexactinellid, a. and n. Zool.
(ˌhɛksæktɪˈnɛlɪd)
[f. mod.L. Hexactinellidæ (f. Gr. ἕξ six + ἀκτίς (ἀκτῖν-) ray + L. dim. -ell-): see -id.]
A. adj. Of or belonging to the Hexactinellidæ, a family of siliceous sponges.
| 1865 Dawson in Relics Prim. Life viii. (1897) 201 Spicules of sponges, some simple and others hexactinellid. 1879 Nicholson Palæont. (ed. 2) I. 147 At the present day we find an abundance of Hexactinellid sponges. |
B. n. A sponge of this family.
| 1879 Nicholson Palæont. I. 147 In the Tertiary period comparatively few hexactinellids make their appearance. |
So hexactiˈnelline a. = prec. A. (Cent. Dict.)