Emily Dickinson Lexicon

A-CANTH-OP-TE-RYG'I-OUS, a. [Gr. ακανθος, a thorn, and πτερυθιον, a little feather, from πτερον, a feather.]

In zoology, having back fins, which are hard, bony and prickly, a term applied to certain fishes. – Linn.