- ə ləs noun
( plural hectocoty·li - ə lˌī)
Etymology: New Latin, from hect- + -cotylus (from Greek kotylē cup, anything hollow) — more at kettle
: a modified arm of a male cephalopod that is specially and variously adapted to effect the fertilization of the eggs ; especially : an arm that in argonauts and some octopods receives the spermatophores, is inserted into the female mantle cavity, and then is broken free from the body of the male