violet snail

2 definitions found

violet snail - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Ianthina \I*an"thi*na\, n.; pl. L. Ianthin[ae], E.
     Ianthinas. [NL., fr. L. ianthinus violet-blue, Gr. ?; ?
     violet + ? flower.] (Zool.)
     Any gastropod of the genus Ianthina, of which various
     species are found living in mid ocean; -- called also purple shell
     , and violet snail. [Written also janthina.]
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: It floats at the surface by means of a raft, which it
           constructs by forming and uniting together air bubbles
           of hardened mucus. The Tyrian purple of the ancients
           was obtained in part from mollusks of this genus.
           [1913 Webster]

  Violet \Vi"o*let\, a. [Cf. F. violet. See Violet, n.]
     Dark blue, inclining to red; bluish purple; having a color
     produced by red and blue combined.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Violet shell (Zool.), any species of Ianthina; -- called
        also violet snail. See Ianthina.
  
     Violet wood, a name given to several kinds of hard purplish
        or reddish woods, as king wood, myall wood, and the wood
        of the Andira violacea, a tree of Guiana.
        [1913 Webster]