ectoplasm
Americannoun
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Biology. the outer portion of the cytoplasm of a cell.
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Spiritualism. the supposed emanation from the body of a medium.
noun
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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
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spiritualism the substance supposedly emanating from the body of a medium during trances
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ectoplasm
Explanation
Ectoplasm is the very thin, watery outer layer of a cell. Biologists use the word ectoplasm primarily to talk about amoebas. Ectoplasm and endoplasm, or "dense inner section," are found in the tiny cells known as amoebas. An amoeba's movements are a result of the way these inner and outer layers fit together. A much less scientific meaning of ectoplasm is "visible spiritual energy." 19th- and early 20th-century spiritualists claimed that a gauzy ectoplasm formed during trance states, a visual connection between living and spirit worlds. This ectoplasm was often proven to be made of cheesecloth.
Vocabulary lists containing ectoplasm
Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 6
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Vocabulary from Readings 1, Unit 1
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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.
Some of them, like me, were journalists who had dutifully showed up to watch Tiffany Haddish trade wisecracks with digital ectoplasm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
Arriving in Edinburgh — the fantastical Scottish capital that has long shimmered with ectoplasm — Jessie hides her seafaring coffin and ventures cautiously into town.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 21, 2021
The character of France is like a filmic ectoplasm of us and who we are, and it is in that world of the film of us that is artificial and natural.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2021
Though a little bit of ectoplasm would have been appreciated.”
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 30, 2019
A sudden flash of light, as in a flash-photograph, may or may not cause a retraction of the ectoplasm, but always causes a spasm of the subject.
From The Vital Message by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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