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Definition of knightia
knightia
/ˈnaɪtiːə/
knight · i · a
Plural:knightias
knightia Lexical Profile
CEFR
C2
Grade
11
Tier
3
Usage
Rare
• noun
1
North American An extinct genus of freshwater schooling fish from the Eocene epoch, related to modern herrings and sardines, widely recognized as one of the most abundant vertebrate fossils in the world and predominantly found in the Green River Formation of Wyoming.
Example
"The museum's paleontology exhibit featured a spectacular limestone slab containing dozens of perfectly preserved knightia fossils."
Word Origin & Etymology
Named in 1907 by ichthyologist David Starr Jordan in honor of Wilbur Clinton Knight, a pioneering paleontologist at the University of Wyoming, combined with the standard taxonomic suffix '-ia'.
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Knightia. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 13, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/knightia