centipede

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun chiefly nocturnal predacious arthropod having a flattened body of 15 to 173 segments each with a pair of legs, the foremost pair being modified as prehensors

From French centipède, from Latin centipeda, centipēs, from centi- (“hundred”) + pēs (“foot”); equivalent to centi- + -pede.

V. Spiders, Centipedes, and Millepedes. — The True Story Book, Unknown
"Here is a little centipede with only twelve legs." — Adventures of a Young Naturalist, Lucien Biart
Also, he lost the centipede and left a clew behind him. — The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu, Sax Rohmer

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