heptapod

English

Etymology

From hepta- (“seven”) +‎ -pod (“leg”).

Noun

heptapod (plural heptapods)

1. Something with seven legs.
   • 1921 October, F. M. Robinson, “Professional Notes”, in Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute, volume 47, number 10, Annapolis, M.D.: U.S. Naval Institute, page 1631:

     The mystery of the Nagato’s wonderful foremast has now been solved. It is a heptapod, the trunk being supported by six powerful struts, carrying a series of searchlights, range-finder platforms, and director towers.

   • 1925, Hector C[harles] Bywater, The Great Pacific War, Boston, M.A., New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, page 292:

     But as she came nearer and yet nearer I could see her, as it were, disintegrating under the rain of sledge-hammer blows. Her massive heptapod foremast was a tangle of twisted steel.

   • 1985, Randal Gray, editor, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906-1921, London: Conway Maritime Press, →ISBN, page 231:

     The heptapod, then, may be considered, along with the US cage, an alternative to the more conventional tripod.

   • 2016 December 8, Christie Wilcox, “The scientific explanation for why humans are so convinced that aliens look like octopuses”, in Quartz‎^[1], archived from the original on 2023-03-24:

     But perhaps what makes the heptapods in Arrival most believable is that they are not all that alien to begin with. From their body shape to their tentacles to their ability to squirt an ink of sorts, heptapods bear a strong resemblance to Earth's most alien intelligent life: cephalopods (squid and octopus).

   • 2023 May 25, Carolyn Wilke, “Video Footage: Is This Octopus Having a Nightmare?”, in The New York Times‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-05-27:

     After the incident, Dr. Ramos reviewed the footage of Costello's activity, which was recorded as part of a behavior and cognition study (the lab was also observing another octopus, Abbott; both were named after the heptapod aliens in the movie "Arrival"). In total, the team found three more shorter instances that appeared similar.

Derived terms

• heptapodal