As*te`ri*oid"e*a (#), As`ter*id"e*a (#), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. + -oid. See Asterias.] Zool.
A class of Echinodermata including the true starfishes. The rays vary in number and always have ambulacral grooves below. The body is starshaped or pentagonal.
© Webster 1913.