1885, "pertaining to or characteristic of the Chordata," from Chordata. Also from 1885 as a noun, "a chordate animal."
Entries linking to chordate
Chordata
"division of the animal kingdom including the true vertebrates," 1880, Modern Latin, from neuter plural of Latin chordatus "having a (spinal) cord," from chorda "cord, string" (from PIE root *ghere- "gut, entrail").
*ghere-
*gherə-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "gut, entrail."
It forms all or part of: Chordata; chordate; chord (n.2) "structure in animals resembling a string;" chorion; cord; cordon; harpsichord; haruspex; hernia; notochord; yarn.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit hira "vein; band;" Latin hernia "rupture;" Greek khorde "intestine, gut-string;" Lithuanian žarna "guts, leather bag;" Old English gearn, Old High German garn "yarn" (originally made of dried gut), Old Norse gorn "gut."