See Also: Vertebrate(medicine)
vertebrate(1)(dictionary)
vertebrate(2)(dictionary)
vertebrate(encyclopedia)
vertebrate(dictionary)
notochordal vertebrate(medicine)
vertebrate hormones(medicine)
vertebrate viruses(medicine)

vertebrate(1) (iou)



vertebrate adjective & noun. E19.
[Latin vertebratus jointed, articulated, formed as VERTEBRA: see -ATE1, -ATE2.]
A. adjective.
Zoology. Of or belonging to the subphylum Vertebrata, which comprises chordate animals with a bony or cartilaginous skeleton, skull, and spinal column, and includes fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. E19.
Of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or found in a backboned animal or animals. M19.
fig. Of a literary text etc.: characterized by strength or coherence. L19.
b. noun. An animal of the subphylum Vertebrata; a vertebrate animal. E19.
vertebrated adjective (now rare or obsolete) (a) = VERTEBRATE adjective 1; (b) consisting of or provided with vertebrae: E19.