Etymology
The word "gastropod" is derived from the Ancient Greek words γαστήρ (gastér, stem: gastr-) "stomach", and πούς (poús, stem: pod-) "foot", hence stomach-foot. This is an anthropomorphic name, based on the fact that to humans it appears as if snails and slugs crawl on their bellies. In reality, snails and slugs have their stomach, the rest of their digestive system and all the rest of their viscera in a hump on the opposite, dorsal side of the body. In most gastropods this visceral hump is covered by, and contained within, the shell.
In the scientific literature, gastropods were described under the vernacular (French) name "gasteropodes" by Georges Cuvier in 1795. The name was later Latinized.
The earlier name univalve means "one valve" or shell, in contrast to bivalve applied to mollusks such as clams and meaning that those animals possess two valves or shells.
Read more about this topic: Gastropoda
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
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