ectoplasm

[ ek-tuh-plaz-uhm ]

noun

Biology. the outer portion of the cytoplasm of a cell.: Compare endoplasm.
Spiritualism. the supposed emanation from the body of a medium.

Origin of ectoplasm

First recorded in 1880–85; ecto- + -plasm

Other words from ectoplasm

ec·to·plas·mic, ec·to·plas·mat·ic [ek-tuh-plaz-mat-ik], /ˌɛk tə plæzˈmæt ɪk/, adjective

Words Nearby ectoplasm

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ectoplasm in a sentence

ectoplasm is something I associate, perhaps strangely, with Ghostbusters.
How sexy Victorian mediums tricked scientists into believing in ectoplasm | PopSci Staff | October 27, 2021 | Popular-Science
The post How sexy Victorian mediums tricked scientists into believing in ectoplasm appeared first on Popular Science.
How sexy Victorian mediums tricked scientists into believing in ectoplasm | PopSci Staff | October 27, 2021 | Popular-Science
The ectoplasm may have given out or his condition of mind influenced it.
Edgar Saltus: The Man | Marie Saltus
The general cytoplasm shows no differentiation into ectoplasm and endoplasm; it is uniformly alveolar in character.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 | Various
The cytoplasm is very highly differentiated: especially the ectoplasm or ectosarc.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 5 | Various

The diameter is about 50µ; the vacuolated ectoplasm passes gradually into the granular endoplasm.
Marine Protozoa from Woods Hole | Gary N. Calkins
In this form (fig. 5) there is no distinction between ectoplasm and endoplasm, and there is an entire absence of vacuoles.
Marine Protozoa from Woods Hole | Gary N. Calkins

British Dictionary definitions for ectoplasm

ectoplasm

/ (ˈɛktəʊˌplæzəm) /

noun

cytology the outer layer of cytoplasm in some cells, esp protozoa, which differs from the inner cytoplasm in being a clear gel: See also endoplasm
spiritualism the substance supposedly emanating from the body of a medium during trances

Derived forms of ectoplasm

ectoplasmic, adjective

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

Browse