Plural Nouns Starting with C

Cabbiri (n. pl.) Certain deities originally worshiped with mystical rites by the Pelasgians in Lemnos and Samothrace and afterwards throughout Greece; -- also called sons of Hephaestus (or Vulcan), as being masters of the art of working metals.

Caeca (n. pl.) See Caecum.

Calces (n. pl.) See Calx.

Calcispongiae (n. pl.) An order of marine sponges, containing calcareous spicules. See Porifera.

Calculi (n. pl.) See Calculus.

Calends (n. pl.) The first day of each month in the ancient Roman calendar.

Calipers (n. pl.) An instrument, usually resembling a pair of dividers or compasses with curved legs, for measuring the diameter or thickness of bodies, as of work shaped in a lathe or planer, timber, masts, shot, etc.; or the bore of firearms, tubes, etc.; -- called also caliper compasses, or caliber compasses.

Callipers (n. pl.) See Calipers.

Calmucks (n. pl.) A branch of the Mongolian race inhabiting parts of the Russian and Chinese empires; also (sing.), the language of the Calmucks.

Calycozoa (n. pl.) A group of acalephs of which Lucernaria is the type. The body is cup-shaped with eight marginal lobes bearing clavate tentacles. An aboral sucker serves for attachment. The interior is divided into four large compartments. See Lucernarida.

Calzoons (n. pl.) Drawers.

Campanes (n. pl.) Bells.

Canonicals (n. pl.) The dress prescribed by canon to be worn by a clergyman when officiating. Sometimes, any distinctive professional dress.

Canonry (n. pl.) A benefice or prebend in a cathedral or collegiate church; a right to a place in chapter and to a portion of its revenues; the dignity or emoluments of a canon.

Cantharides (n. pl.) See Cantharis.

Capitibranchiata (n. pl.) A division of annelids in which the gills arise from or near the head. See Tubicola.

Capitula (n. pl.) See Capitulum.

Carinatae (n. pl.) A grand division of birds, including all existing flying birds; -- So called from the carina or keel on the breastbone.

Carlings (n. pl.) Same as Carl, 3.

Carnivora (n. pl.) An order of Mammallia including the lion, tiger, wolf bear, seal, etc. They are adapted by their structure to feed upon flesh, though some of them, as the bears, also eat vegetable food. The teeth are large and sharp, suitable for cutting flesh, and the jaws powerful.

Caryatides (n. pl.) Caryatids.

Casings (n. pl.) Dried dung of cattle used as fuel.

Castanets (n. pl.) Two small, concave shells of ivory or hard wood, shaped like spoons, fastened to the thumb, and beaten together with the middle finger; -- used by the Spaniards and Moors as an accompaniment to their dance and guitars.

Catallacta (n. pl.) A division of Protozoa, of which Magosphaera is the type. They exist both in a myxopod state, with branched pseudopodia, and in the form of ciliated bodies united in free, spherical colonies.

Catamenia (n. pl.) The monthly courses of women; menstrual discharges; menses.

Catawbas (n. pl.) An Appalachian tribe of Indians which originally inhabited the regions near the Catawba river and the head waters of the Santee.

Cattle (n. pl.) Quadrupeds of the Bovine family; sometimes, also, including all domestic quadrupeds, as sheep, goats, horses, mules, asses, and swine.

Caudata (n. pl.) See Urodela.

Cavicornia (n. pl.) A group of ruminants whose horns are hollow, and planted on a bony process of the front, as the ox.

Cayugas (n. pl.) A tribe of Indians formerly inhabiting western New-York, forming part of the confederacy called the Five Nations.

Cephalata (n. pl.) A large division of Mollusca, including all except the bivalves; -- so called because the head is distinctly developed. See Illustration in Appendix.

Cephalophora (n. pl.) The cephalata.

Cephalopoda (n. pl.) The highest class of Mollusca.

Ceratobranchia (n. pl.) A group of nudibranchiate Mollusca having on the back papilliform or branched organs serving as gills.

Ceratospongiae (n. pl.) An order of sponges in which the skeleton consists of horny fibers. It includes all the commercial sponges.

Cerealia (n. pl.) Public festivals in honor of Ceres.

Cerealia (n. pl.) The cereals.

Cestoidea (n. pl.) A class of parasitic worms (Platelminthes) of which the tapeworms are the most common examples. The body is flattened, and usually but not always long, and composed of numerous joints or segments, each of which may contain a complete set of male and female reproductive organs. They have neither mouth nor intestine. See Tapeworm.

Cetacea (n. pl.) An order of marine mammals, including the whales. Like ordinary mammals they breathe by means of lungs, and bring forth living young which they suckle for some time. The anterior limbs are changed to paddles; the tail flukes are horizontal. There are two living suborders:

Chaetognatha (n. pl.) An order of free-swimming marine worms, of which the genus Sagitta is the type. They have groups of curved spines on each side of the head.

Chaetopoda (n. pl.) A very extensive order of Annelida, characterized by the presence of lateral setae, or spines, on most or all of the segments. They are divided into two principal groups: Oligochaeta, including the earthworms and allied forms, and Polychaeta, including most of the marine species.

Chaps (n. pl.) The jaws, or the fleshy parts about them. See Chap.

Chausses (n. pl.) The garment for the legs and feet and for the body below the waist, worn in Europe throughout the Middle Ages; applied also to the armor for the same parts, when fixible, as of chain mail.

Cheiroptera (n. pl.) An order of mammalia, including the bats, having four toes of each of the anterior limbs elongated and connected by a web, so that they can be used like wings in flying. See Bat.

Chelonia (n. pl.) An order of reptiles, including the tortoises and turtles, peculiar in having a part of the vertebrae, ribs, and sternum united with the dermal plates so as to form a firm shell. The jaws are covered by a horny beak. See Reptilia; also, Illust. in Appendix.

Chenomorphae (n. pl.) An order of birds, including the swans, ducks, geese, flamingoes and screamers.

Cherokees (n. pl.) An Appalachian tribe of Indians, formerly inhabiting the region about the head waters of the Tennessee River. They are now mostly settled in the Indian Territory, and have become one of the most civilized of the Indian Tribes.

Chesses (n. pl.) The platforms, consisting of two or more planks doweled together, for the flooring of a temporary military bridge.

Chevaux (n. pl.) See Cheval.

Cheyennes (n. pl.) A warlike tribe of indians, related to the blackfeet, formerly inhabiting the region of Wyoming, but now mostly on reservations in the Indian Territory. They are noted for their horsemanship.

Chickasaws (n. pl.) A tribe of North American Indians (Southern Appalachian) allied to the Choctaws. They formerly occupied the northern part of Alabama and Mississippi, but now live in the Indian Territory.

Chilognatha (n. pl.) One of the two principal orders of myriapods. They have numerous segments, each bearing two pairs of small, slender legs, which are attached ventrally, near together.

Chilopoda (n. pl.) One of the orders of myriapods, including the centipeds. They have a single pair of elongated legs attached laterally to each segment; well developed jaws; and a pair of thoracic legs converted into poison fangs. They are insectivorous, very active, and some species grow to the length of a foot.

Chilostoma (n. pl.) Alt. of Chilostomata

Chilostomata (n. pl.) An extensive suborder of marine Bryozoa, mostly with calcareous shells. They have a movable lip and a lid to close the aperture of the cells.

Chippeways (n. pl.) A tribe of Indians formerly inhabiting the northern and western shores of Lake Superior; -- called also Objibways.

Chitterlings (n. pl.) The smaller intestines of swine, etc., fried for food.

Choctaws (n. pl.) A tribe of North American Indians (Southern Appalachian), in early times noted for their pursuit of agriculture, and for living at peace with the white settlers. They are now one of the civilized tribes of the Indian Territory.

Chondropterygii (n. pl.) A group of fishes, characterized by cartilaginous fins and skeleton. It includes both ganoids (sturgeons, etc.) and selachians (sharks), but is now often restricted to the latter.

Chondrostei (n. pl.) An order of fishes, including the sturgeons; -- so named because the skeleton is cartilaginous.

Chops (n. pl.) The jaws; also, the fleshy parts about the mouth.

Chops (n. pl.) The sides or capes at the mouth of a river, channel, harbor, or bay; as, the chops of the English Channel.

Chordata (n. pl.) A comprehensive division of animals including all Vertebrata together with the Tunicata, or all those having a dorsal nervous cord.

Cilia (n. pl.) The eyelashes.

Cilia (n. pl.) Small, generally microscopic, vibrating appendages lining certain organs, as the air passages of the higher animals, and in the lower animals often covering also the whole or a part of the exterior. They are also found on some vegetable organisms. In the Infusoria, and many larval forms, they are locomotive organs.

Cilia (n. pl.) Hairlike processes, commonly marginal and forming a fringe like the eyelash.

Cilia (n. pl.) Small, vibratory, swimming organs, somewhat resembling true cilia, as those of Ctenophora.

Ciliata (n. pl.) One of the orders of Infusoria, characterized by having cilia. In some species the cilia cover the body generally, in others they form a band around the mouth.

Cinura (n. pl.) The group of Thysanura which includes Lepisma and allied forms; the bristletails. See Bristletail, and Lepisma.

Cirri (n. pl.) See Cirrus.

Cirripedia (n. pl.) An order of Crustacea including the barnacles. When adult, they have a calcareous shell composed of several pieces. From the opening of the shell the animal throws out a group of curved legs, looking like a delicate curl, whence the name of the group. See Anatifa.

Cirrobranchiata (n. pl.) A division of Mollusca having slender, cirriform appendages near the mouth; the Scaphopoda.

Cirrostomi (n. pl.) The lowest group of vertebrates; -- so called from the cirri around the mouth; the Leptocardia. See Amphioxus.

Citigradae (n. pl.) A suborder of Arachnoidea, including the European tarantula and the wolf spiders (Lycosidae) and their allies, which capture their prey by rapidly running and jumping. See Wolf spider.

Cizars (n. pl.) Scissors.

Cladocera (n. pl.) An order of the Entomostraca.

Clamatores (n. pl.) A division of passerine birds in which the vocal muscles are but little developed, so that they lack the power of singing.

Clavicornes (n. pl.) A group of beetles having club-shaped antennae.

Clayes (n. pl.) Wattles, or hurdles, made with stakes interwoven with osiers, to cover lodgments.

Close-fights (n. pl.) Barriers with loopholes, formerly erected on the deck of a vessel to shelter the men in a close engagement with an enemy's boarders; -- called also close quarters.

Clothes (n. pl.) Covering for the human body; dress; vestments; vesture; -- a general term for whatever covering is worn, or is made to be worn, for decency or comfort.

Clothes (n. pl.) The covering of a bed; bedclothes.

Cnidaria (n. pl.) A comprehensive group equivalent to the true Coelenterata, i. e., exclusive of the sponges. They are so named from presence of stinging cells (cnidae) in the tissues. See Coelenterata.

Coamings (n. pl.) Raised pieces of wood of iron around a hatchway, skylight, or other opening in the deck, to prevent water from running bellow; esp. the fore-and-aft pieces of a hatchway frame as distinguished from the transverse head ledges.

Coelentera (n. pl.) Alt. of Coelenterata

Coelenterata (n. pl.) A comprehensive group of Invertebrata, mostly marine, comprising the Anthozoa, Hydrozoa, and Ctenophora. The name implies that the stomach and body cavities are one. The group is sometimes enlarged so as to include the sponges.

Cognati (n. pl.) Relatives by the mother's side.

Coleoptera (n. pl.) An order of insects having the anterior pair of wings (elytra) hard and horny, and serving as coverings for the posterior pair, which are membranous, and folded transversely under the others when not in use. The mouth parts form two pairs of jaws (mandibles and maxillae) adapted for chewing. Most of the Coleoptera are known as beetles and weevils.

Collards (n. pl.) Young cabbage, used as "greens"; esp. a kind cultivated for that purpose; colewort.

Collembola (n. pl.) The division of Thysanura which includes Podura, and allied forms.

Columbae (n. pl.) An order of birds, including the pigeons.

Comanches (n. pl.) A warlike, savage, and nomadic tribe of the Shoshone family of Indians, inhabiting Mexico and the adjacent parts of the United States; -- called also Paducahs. They are noted for plundering and cruelty.

Comitia (n. pl.) A public assembly of the Roman people for electing officers or passing laws.

Commons (n. pl.) The mass of the people, as distinguished from the titled classes or nobility; the commonalty; the common people.

Commons (n. pl.) The House of Commons, or lower house of the British Parliament, consisting of representatives elected by the qualified voters of counties, boroughs, and universities.

Commons (n. pl.) Provisions; food; fare, -- as that provided at a common table in colleges and universities.

Commons (n. pl.) A club or association for boarding at a common table, as in a college, the members sharing the expenses equally; as, to board in commons.

Commons (n. pl.) A common; public pasture ground.

Compositae (n. pl.) A large family of dicotyledonous plants, having their flowers arranged in dense heads of many small florets and their anthers united in a tube. The daisy, dandelion, and asters, are examples.

Conchifera (n. pl.) That class of Mollusca which includes the bivalve shells; the Lamellibranchiata. See Mollusca.

Conirostres (n. pl.) A tribe of perching birds, including those which have a strong conical bill, as the finches.

Contents (n. pl.) See Content, n.

Copelata (n. pl.) See Larvalla.

Copepoda (n. pl.) An order of Entomostraca, including many minute Crustacea, both fresh-water and marine.

Copts (n. pl.) An Egyptian race thought to be descendants of the ancient Egyptians.

Copts (n. pl.) The principal sect of Christians in Egypt and the valley of the Nile.

Coralligena (n. pl.) Same as Anthozoa.

Cormophytes (n. pl.) Alt. of Cormophyta

Cormophyta (n. pl.) A term proposed by Endlicher to include all plants with an axis containing vascular tissue and with foliage.

Cortes (n. pl.) The legislative assembly, composed of nobility, clergy, and representatives of cities, which in Spain and in Portugal answers, in some measure, to the Parliament of Great Britain.

Cowblakes (n. pl.) Dried cow dung used as fuel.

Cracowes (n. pl.) Long-toed boots or shoes formerly worn in many parts of Europe; -- so called from Cracow, in Poland, where they were first worn in the fourteenth century.

Craniota (n. pl.) A comprehensive division of the Vertebrata, including all those that have a skull.

Craspedota (n. pl.) The hydroid or naked-eyed medusae. See Hydroidea.

Creeks (n. pl.) A tribe or confederacy of North American Indians, including the Muskogees, Seminoles, Uchees, and other subordinate tribes. They formerly inhabited Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.

Crees (n. pl.) An Algonquin tribe of Indians, inhabiting a large part of British America east of the Rocky Mountains and south of Hudson's Bay.

Crinoidea (n. pl.) A large class of Echinodermata, including numerous extinct families and genera, but comparatively few living ones. Most of the fossil species, like some that are recent, were attached by a jointed stem. See Blastoidea, Cystoidea, Comatula.

Crocodilia (n. pl.) An order of reptiles including the crocodiles, gavials, alligators, and many extinct kinds.

Crossbones (n. pl.) A representation of two of the leg bones or arm bones of a skeleton, laid crosswise, often surmounted with a skull, and serving as a symbol of death.

Cross-days (n. pl.) The three days preceding the Feast of the Ascension.

Crossopterygii (n. pl.) An order of ganoid fishes including among living species the bichir (Polypterus). See Brachioganoidei.

Crosstrees (n. pl.) Pieces of timber at a masthead, to which are attached the upper shrouds. At the head of lower masts in large vessels, they support a semicircular platform called the "top."

Crottles (n. pl.) A name given to various lichens gathered for dyeing.

Crows (n. pl.) A tribe of Indians of the Dakota stock, living in Montana; -- also called Upsarokas.

Cruels (n. pl.) Glandular scrofulous swellings in the neck.

Crura (n. pl.) See Crus.

Crustacea (n. pl.) One of the classes of the arthropods, including lobsters and crabs; -- so called from the crustlike shell with which they are covered.

Cryptobranchiata (n. pl.) A division of the Amphibia; the Derotremata.

Cryptobranchiata (n. pl.) A group of nudibranch mollusks.

Crypturi (n. pl.) An order of flying, drom/ognathous birds, including the tinamous of South America. See Tinamou.

Ctenoidei (n. pl.) A group of fishes, established by Agassiz, characterized by having scales with a pectinated margin, as in the perch. The group is now generally regarded as artificial.

Ctenophora (n. pl.) A class of Coelenterata, commonly ellipsoidal in shape, swimming by means of eight longitudinal rows of paddles. The separate paddles somewhat resemble combs.

Ctenostomata (n. pl.) A suborder of Bryozoa, usually having a circle of bristles below the tentacles.

Cultirostres (n. pl.) A tribe of wading birds including the stork, heron, crane, etc.

Cumacea (n. pl.) An order of marine Crustacea, mostly of small size.

Cunabula (n. pl.) The earliest abode; original dwelling place; originals; as, the cunabula of the human race.

Cunabula (n. pl.) The extant copies of the first or earliest printed books, or of such as were printed in the 15th century.

Cursores (n. pl.) An order of running birds including the ostrich, emu, and allies; the Ratitaae.

Cursores (n. pl.) A group of running spiders; the wolf spiders.

Cycloganoidei (n. pl.) An order of ganoid fishes, having cycloid scales. The bowfin (Amia calva) is a living example.

Cycloidei (n. pl.) An order of fishes, formerly proposed by Agassiz, for those with thin, smooth scales, destitute of marginal spines, as the herring and salmon. The group is now regarded as artificial.

Cyclostomata (n. pl.) Alt. of Cyclostoma

Cyclostoma (n. pl.) A division of Bryozoa, in which the cells have circular apertures.

Cyclostomi (n. pl.) A glass of fishes having a suckerlike mouth, without jaws, as the lamprey; the Marsipobranchii.

Cynoidea (n. pl.) A division of Carnivora, including the dogs, wolves, and foxes.

Cystidea (n. pl.) An order of Crinoidea, mostly fossils of the Paleozoic rocks. They were usually roundish or egg-shaped, and often unsymmetrical; some were sessile, others had short stems.

Czechs (n. pl.) The most westerly branch of the great Slavic family of nations, numbering now more than 6,000,000, and found principally in Bohemia and Moravia.

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