belemnite

Etymology

From Ancient Greek βέλεμνον (bélemnon, “dart, arrow”) +‎ -ite.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛləmˌnaɪt/

Noun

belemnite (plural belemnites)

1. (paleontology) Any member of the extinct order †Belemnitida of Mesozoic marine cephalopods, very similar in many ways to the modern squid and closely related to the modern cuttlefish.
   • 1895, H. G. Wells, chapter VIII, in The Time Machine:

     In the universal decay this volatile substance had chanced to survive, perhaps through many thousands of centuries. It reminded me of a sepia painting I had once seen done from the ink of a fossil Belemnite that must have perished and become fossilized millions of years ago.