hormogonium

[ hawr-muh-goh-nee-uhm ]

noun

, plural hor·mo·go·ni·a [hawr-m, uh, -, goh, -nee-, uh].

1. Microbiology a portion of filament in cyanobacteria that becomes detached and reproduces by cell division.

Other Words From

• hor·mog·o·nous [hawr-, mog, -, uh, -n, uh, s], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hormogonium¹

First recorded in 1880–85; from New Latin hormogonium, from Greek horm(ḗ) “impetus, impulse” + -o- ( def ) + -gonium ( def )