Webster's English Dictionary

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octopus

oc.to.pus \'a:k-t*-p*s also -.pu.s\ n [NL Octopod-, Octopus, genus name, 
   fr. Gk okto-pous] 1: any of a genus (Octopus) including all of the common 
   octopuses or  restricted to a few typical forms; broadly : any octopod 
   excepting the paper nautilus 2: something that resembles an octopus esp. in 
   having many branches central ly directed