Hŏl'ō-thūre, n.

n. [Gr. ὅλος, whole, and θυρίον, diminutive of θύρα, opening, door, mouth.] (Zoöl.) A marine, radiate animal, of the order of Echinoderms, having an elongated body and leathery skin, an alimentary canal open at both ends, and generally with a circlet of tentacles about the mouth. Some are flattened, or much like true worms in form; others are sub-prismatic, and have little tubercles along the body. From their shape they are sometimes called sea-cucumber. Some species are largely used for food by the Chinese, under the names of trepang and béche de mér; others are eaten in the Mediterranean.