[oc.to.pus] n, pl -pus.es or -pi [NL Octopod-, Octopus, fr. Gk oktopous] (1758) 1: any of a genus (Octopus) of cephalopod mollusks that have eight muscular arms equipped with two rows of suckers; broadly: any octopod excepting the paper nautilus
2: something that resembles an octopus esp. in having many centrally directed branches