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放散虫 (housanchuu) Japanese meaning: radiolarian | Kotomora

放ほう散さん虫ちゅう

ほ

う

さ

ん

ちゅ

う

Meanings

1

radiolarian

A type of marine plankton with intricate mineral skeletons; used in biology and earth science.

放ほう散さん虫ちゅうの化か石せきは、地ち層そうの年ねん代だいを決きめるのに役やく立

だ

つ

。

Radiolarian fossils are useful for determining the age of geological strata.

Kanji

放set free, release, fire
散scatter, disperse, spend
虫insect, bug, temper

Word family

放ほう散さん虫ちゅう軟なん泥でい
radiolarian ooze

Etymology

Compound of 放散 (hōsan, 'diffusion, scattering') and 虫 (chū, 'insect, worm, bug'), referring to the radiating pseudopodia of these organisms. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.