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1. Dwelling at or near the bottom of a body of water: a demersal fish.
2. Sinking to or deposited near the bottom of a body of water: demersal fish eggs.
[From Latin dēmersus, past participle of dēmergere, to sink : dē-, de- + mergere, to sink.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
(Biology) living or occurring on the bottom of a sea or a lake: demersal fish.
[C19: from Latin dēmersus submerged (from dēmergere to plunge into, from mergere to dip) + -al1]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
(of marine life) persisting at the lowest ocean layers; bottom-dwelling.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
demersal- Describing a fish that lives close to the floor of the sea or a lake.
See also related terms for lake.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.