gregarine

American

[greg-uh-rahyn, -er-in] / ˈgrɛg əˌraɪn, -ər ɪn /

noun

a type of sporozoan parasite that inhabits the digestive and other cavities of various invertebrates and produces cysts filled with spores.

adjective

having the characteristics of or pertaining to a gregarine or gregarines.

gregarine British

/ -rɪn, ˈɡrɛɡəˌriːn /

noun

any parasitic protozoan of the order Gregarinida, typically occurring in the digestive tract and body cavity of other invertebrates: phylum Apicomplexa (sporozoans)

"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

adjective

of, relating to, or belonging to the Gregarinida

"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

Etymology

Origin of gregarine

1865–70; < New Latin Gregarina name of type, equivalent to Latin gregār ( ius ) ( gregarious ) + -īna -ine ¹

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.

In a private communication, however, the author states that he has probably mistaken phases in the development of an ordinary gregarine parasite in the louse for part of the life-cycle of this Haemogregarine.

From Project Gutenberg

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