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British

animalcule

[ an-uh-mal-kyool ]

/ ˌæn əˈmæl kyul /

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See synonyms for animalcule on Thesaurus.com

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.

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Also called an·i·mal·cu·lum

[an-uh-mal-kyuh-luhm] /ˌæn əˈmæl kyə ləm/ .

Origin of animalcule

First recorded in 1590–1600, animalcule is from the New Latin word animalculum “a small animal.” See animal, -cule¹

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, adjective

Words nearby animalcule

animal charcoal, animal companion, animal control, animal control officer, animal cracker, animalcule, animal faith, Animal Farm, animal heat, animal husbandry, Animalia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use animalcule in a sentence

This is a one-celled animal known as the paramœcium or the slipper animalcule (because of its shape).
A Civic Biology|George William Hunter
Indeed, too sadly so, and I dare apply but a flash of the microscope to the rageing dilemmas of this animalcule.
Rhoda Fleming, Complete|George Meredith
These movements are termed amoebiform, because they quite resemble the movements of a small animalcule which is named amoeba.
Young Folks' Library, Volume XI (of 20)|Various
Shall physical or chemical forces explain why the animalcule digs into the hard clay?
The Life of the Fly|J. Henri Fabre

At one end of the ascending scale of organic life we see an animalcule swimming in the direction in which it is attracted by food.
Parallel Paths|Thomas William Rolleston

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, adjective

Word 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