asellidae

pl. [A SELL US.] Zoology: A family of Isopod Crustaceans. Some species are marine, and others freshwater. The Limnoria terebrans , so destructive to woodwork immersed in the ocean, belongs to the family. a-sěl-lus (pl. a-sěl'-li), s. [Lat. a sell us = a little a .] 1. Zool. The typical genus of the Asellidæ. It contains the A. aquatic us, or Water-hog Louse, common in fresh water. 2. Astron. Two stars in the constellation Cancer. The Greeks, through whom we have received the sign Cancer, placed two a es in it, where they still remain, under the titles of A sell us Boreas and A sell us Australis; and near them is the asterism Præsepe, or the Manger, in which there are about forty small stars visible in the telescope. *ā-sěl-ỹ, v.t. [HOUSEL.]