crystalloid
Americannoun
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a usually crystallizable substance that, when dissolved in a liquid, will diffuse readily through vegetable or animal membranes.
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Botany. one of certain minute crystallike granules of protein, found in the tissues of various seeds.
adjective
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resembling a crystal.
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of the nature of a crystalloid.
adjective
noun
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a substance that in solution can pass through a semipermeable membrane Compare colloid
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botany any of numerous crystals of protein occurring in certain seeds and other storage organs
Other Word Forms
- crystalloidal adjective
Etymology
Origin of crystalloid
From the Greek word krystalloeidḗs, dating back to 1860–65. See crystall-, -oid
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.
He proved that a colloidal substance acts towards a crystalloid much as water does; that the crystalloid rapidly diffuses through the colloid, but that colloids are not themselves capable of diffusing through other colloids.
From Heroes of Science Chemists by Muir, M. M. Pattison (Matthew Moncrieff Pattison)
On the results of his examination of the phenomena of diffusion of liquids and salts across porous membranes or septa, Graham founded a method of separating colloid from crystalloid bodies, which he called dialysis.
From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 1: Deposition to Eberswalde by Various
This arises from the fact that the molecules of a colloid are extremely large when compared with those of a crystalloid.
From The Mechanism of Life by Leduc, Stéphane
The philosophers call it crystalloid, for it taketh suddenly divers forms and shapes of colours as crystal doth.
From Mediaeval Lore from Bartholomew Anglicus by Steele, Robert
The smallest individual particle of a colloid appeared to him to be a much more complex structure than the smallest particle of a crystalloid.
From Heroes of Science Chemists by Muir, M. M. Pattison (Matthew Moncrieff Pattison)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
