ScienceAugust 29, 2026
demersal
di-MUR-sul
Definition
Relating to or living near the bottom of the sea or a lake.
Etymology
Derived from the Latin 'demersus', the past participle of 'demergere' meaning 'to sink down' or 'to submerge'. It entered English in the 19th century as a biological term for organisms living at the bottom of a body of water.
In the news
The article uses the term to describe a specific type of trawl net designed to capture fish species that inhabit the seafloor, as opposed to those that swim in the open water column.
Underwater pioneers
Read the full article ↗Fishing News