animalcule
[ an-uh-mal-kyool ]
/ ˌæn əˈmæl kyul /
Save This Word!
noun
a minute or microscopic animal, nearly or quite invisible to the naked eye, as an infusorian or rotifer.
Archaic. a tiny animal, as a mouse or fly.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!
In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”
Question 1 of 7
The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.
Also called an·i·mal·cu·lum [an-uh-mal-kyuh-luhm] /ˌæn əˈmæl kyə ləm/ .
Origin of animalcule
OTHER WORDS FROM animalcule
an·i·mal·cu·lar [an-uh-mal-kyuh-ler], /ˌæn əˈmæl kyə lər/, an·i·mal·cu·line [an-uh-mal-kyuh-lin], /ˌæn əˈmæl kyə lɪn/, an·i·mal·cu·lous, adjectiveWords nearby animalcule
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for animalcule
British Dictionary definitions for animalcule
animalcule
animalculum (ˌænɪˈmælkjʊləm)
/ (ˌænɪˈmælkjuːl) /
noun plural -cules or -cula (-kjʊlə)
a microscopic animal such as an amoeba or rotifer
Derived forms of animalcule
animalcular, adjectiveWord Origin for animalcule
C16: from New Latin animalculum a small animal
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012