Arcella

American

[ahr-sel-uh] / ɑrˈsɛl ə /

noun

a genus of freshwater, ameboid protozoa that secrete a hard, umbrellalike shell having a single opening through which the pseudopodia extend.

Etymology

Origin of Arcella

1838; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin arc ( a ) a chest, box + -ella diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Arcella vulgaris is a minute morsel of protoplasm, which lives in a concave-convex, brown, finely reticulated shell, through a circular opening in the concave side of which it can project itself by throwing out pseudopodia.

From Unconscious Memory by Butler, Samuel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023