thickbodied

Thickbodied is an adjective used to describe an organism or object with a body that is notably thick or bulky relative to related forms. The term emphasizes a stout, rounded, or robust morphology rather than height or length alone.

In contemporary writing, the preferred form is thick-bodied, usually hyphenated. The closed variant thickbodied is rare and typically appears in older texts, OCR-derived transcriptions, or as a stylistic choice. The sense is descriptive rather than normative.

Contexts: In botany and horticulture, thickbodied or thick-bodied plants describe succulents and other species with thick stems or trunks that store water or nutrients. In zoology, the term may describe animals with a stocky or bulky torso, such as those adapted to a compact, powerful build. The term is not a formal taxonomic category; it functions as a qualitative descriptor or character state in observational descriptions.

Etymology and related terms: The word derives from the combination of thick and body, and is parallel to hyphenated forms such as thick-bodied, stocky-bodied, or stout-bodied. It should be used with caution to avoid ambiguity, especially when different authors may implement closed compounds differently.