tubifex

tu·bi·fex

 (to͞o′bə-fĕks′, tyo͞o′-)

n. pl. tubifex or tu·bi·fex·es

Any of various small slender reddish freshwater worms of the genus Tubifex, often used as food for tropical aquarium fish.

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[New Latin Tubifex, genus name : Latin tubus, tube + Latin -fex, maker; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

tubifex

(ˈtjuːbɪˌfɛks)

n, pl -fex or -fexes

(Animals) any small reddish freshwater oligochaete worm of the genus Tubifex; it characteristically lives in a tube in sand and is used as food for aquarium fish

[C19: from New Latin, from Latin tubus tube + facere to make, do]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

tu•bi•fex

(ˈtu bəˌfɛks, ˈtyu-)

n., pl. -fex•es, (esp. collectively) -fex.

any small bottom-dwelling annelid worm of the genus Tubifex, often used as food for aquarium fish.

[< New Latin (1816); see tube, -i-, -fex]

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