/oh beel"yeuh, oh bee"lee euh/ , n.
a colonial hydroid of the genus Obelia, common in temperate seas and appearing as a delicate, mosslike growth on rocks, pilings, etc.
[ 1865-70; obelías a loaf toasted on a spit, equiv. to obel ( ós ) a spit (see OBELISK) + -ias n. suffix ]