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Cetacea (n.)

order of marine mammals containing whales, 1795, Modern Latin, from Latin cetus "any large sea creature" (whales, seals, dolphins), from Greek kētos "a whale, a sea monster," which is of unknown origin, + -acea.

Entries related to Cetacea

-acea 
word-forming element in Modern Latin making names for orders and classes in zoology (Crustacea, Cetacea, etc.), from Latin -acea, neuter plural of -aceus "belonging to, of the nature of" (enlarged from adjectival suffix -ax, genitive -acis).

The names are thus formally adjectives, Latin animalia "animals" (a neuter plural noun) being understood. Thus Crustacea "shellfish" are *crustacea animalia "crusty animals."

In botany, the suffix is -aceae, from the fem. plural of -aceus, forming orders or families of plants (Rosaceae, etc.) with a presumed plantae "plants," which is a fem. plural.
cetacean (n.)

1836, from Cetacea, name of the order of marine mammals, + -an. As an adjective, "pertaining to the whale," from 1839.

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Definitions of Cetacea from WordNet

Cetacea (n.)
an order of Eutheria;
Synonyms: order Cetacea
From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near Cetacea

cession

cesspit

cesspool

Cestrian

cestus

Cetacea

cetacean

cetaceous

ceteris paribus

ceticide

cetology

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