nauplius
nau·pli·us/ˈnɔ.pli.əs/noun
nauplius is spelled N-A-U-P-L-I-U-S: 8 letters and 3 syllables (nau·pli·us). It appears about once in every 44 million words in written English, the 204,233rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nauplius means “A crustacean larva that has three pairs of locomotive organs (corresponding to antennules, antennae, and mandibles), a median eye, and little or no…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nauplius is nauplii or naupliuses.
How many letters and syllables are in nauplius?
| Letters | 8: N-A-U-P-L-I-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: nau·pli·us |
| In writing | about once in every 44 million words; the 204,233rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is nauplius?
Nauplius appears about once in every 44 million words in written English, the 204,233rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nauplius?
- UK /ˈnɔː.plɪ.əs/
- US /ˈnɔ.pli.əs/
- US /ˈnɑ-/
Nauplius has 3 syllables, split nau·pli·us in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-nauplius.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of nauplius
- nauplii plural
- naupliuses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nauplius mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A crustacean larva that has three pairs of locomotive organs (corresponding to antennules, antennae, and mandibles), a median eye, and little or no segmentation of the body.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nauplius in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense crustacean larva:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | nauplio |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nauplius come from?
] Borrowed from New Latin Nauplius (former genus name) (coined by Danish naturalist Otto Friedrich Müller (1730–1784) who mistakenly thought the larvae were a separate genus of animal), from Latin nauplius (“argonaut, paper nautilus (genus Argonauta)”), from Ancient Greek ναύπλιος (naúplios, “type of shellfish”), from ναῦς (naûs, “ship”) + πλέω (pléō, “to sail”); compare Latin Nauplius (“mythological king of Euboea”), from Ancient Greek Ναύπλιος (Naúplios, “mythological founder of the city of Nauplia (Nafplio), a son of Poseidon and Amymone”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).