Home › Words › P › protochordateprotochordateprotochordate means any chordate of the phyla Hemichordata, Urochordata or Cephalochordata.EtymologyFrom proto- + chordate.nounAny chordate of the phyla Hemichordata, Urochordata or CephalochordataDefinitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).Words closest in meaningBy meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.hemichordate 63% match — Any of many marine worms, of the phylum Hemichordata, that have a primitive notochord. vs protochordate →achordate 62% match — Not having a proto-spinal chord at any stage of development. vs protochordate →cephalochordate 62% match — Any of the primitive fishlike creatures, of the subphylum Cephalochordata, including the lancelets, that lack a true spine but have a notochord which, in the case of cephalochordates, reaches into the head, contrary to the Urochordata vs protochordate →urochord 61% match — A notochord that is limited to the caudal region; especially in the Urochordata vs protochordate →trochelminth 60% match — Any member of the Trochelminthes. vs protochordate →prenotochordal 58% match — Prior to the development of the notochord vs protochordate →stomochord 57% match — A buccal diverticulum in the proboscis of hemichordates vs protochordate →chordate 56% match — A member of the phylum Chordata; numerous animals having a notochord at some stage of their development; in vertebrates this develops into the spine. vs protochordate →