Coelacanthine
adj ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Pertaining to, or having the properties of, a coelacanth (fish).
- 2 Extremely old-fashioned or atavistic. figuratively
"It must always be remembered that although to an adult a particular belief may seem like a coelacanthine survival from the past, to the schoolchild who learns it from his mate the belief is a novelty; it is something just learnt, and often excitingly full of possibility for his immediate welfare."
Example
More examples"It must always be remembered that although to an adult a particular belief may seem like a coelacanthine survival from the past, to the schoolchild who learns it from his mate the belief is a novelty; it is something just learnt, and often excitingly full of possibility for his immediate welfare."
Etymology
From coelacanth + -ine.
More for "coelacanthine"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.