tardigrade adjective & noun. ['tɑ:dɪgreɪd] E17.
[French, or Latin tardigradus from tardus slow + -I- + -gradus walking.]
A. adjective.
1. Walking or moving slowly; slow-paced. Also (fig.), sluggish in thought or action, unprogressive. E17.
Sunday Correspondent Bowls players..devoted to this tardigrade sport.

2. Of or pertaining to the suborder Tardigrada of edentate mammals, comprising the sloths. L18.

3. Of or pertaining to the phylum Tardigrada, which comprises minute animals with chitinous exoskeletons, stout bodies, and eight stubby legs that inhabit water films on mosses and other specialized aquatic habitats and can survive desiccation. M19.
b. noun.
1. A mammal of the suborder Tardigrada, a sloth. E19.

2. An animal of the phylum Tardigrada. Also called water bear. M19.

■ tar'digradous adjective = TARDIGRADE adjective 1 M17.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲