paramecium
[ par-uh-mee-shee-uh m, -shuh m, -see-uh m ]
/ ˌpær əˈmi ʃi əm, -ʃəm, -si əm /
noun, plural par·a·me·ci·a [par-uh-mee-shee-uh, -shuh, -see-uh] /ˌpær əˈmi ʃi ə, -ʃə, -si ə/.
any ciliated freshwater protozoan of the genus Paramecium, having an oval body and a long, deep oral groove.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
paramagnetism, paramaribo, paramastitis, paramatman, paramatta, paramecium, paramedic, paramedical, paramenia, parament, paramesonephric duct
Origin of paramecium
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for paramecium
Swimming vigorously in the water, they devote themselves to chasing the Paramecium.
The Ocean World:|Louis FiguierThe Paramecium are propagated by spontaneous division, as already described.
The Ocean World:|Louis FiguierThe neurone, however, is a little unicellular animal, like the amoeba or the paramecium.
Introduction to the Science of Sociology|Robert E. ParkJennings found a number of races of paramecium of different sizes living under natural conditions.
A Critique of the Theory of Evolution|Thomas Hunt Morgan
British Dictionary definitions for paramecium
paramecium
/ (ˌpærəˈmiːsɪəm) /
noun plural -cia (-sɪə)
any freshwater protozoan of the genus Paramecium, having an oval body covered with cilia and a ventral ciliated groove for feeding: phylum Ciliophora (ciliates)
Word Origin for paramecium
C18: New Latin, from Greek paramēkēs elongated, from para- 1 + mēkos length
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
Medicine definitions for paramecium
Paramecium
[ păr′ə-mē′shē-əm, -sē-əm ]
n.
A genus of freshwater ciliate protozoans, characteristically slipper-shaped and covered with cilia, and commonly used for genetic research and other studies.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for paramecium
paramecium
[ păr′ə-mē′sē-əm ]
Plural paramecia parameciums
Any of various freshwater protozoans of the genus Paramecium that are usually oval in shape and that move by means of cilia. Although they consist of a single cell, paramecia are large enough to be visible to the naked eye. Like other ciliates, paramecia contain two nuclei, a macronucleus and a micronucleus. On the cellular surface is a groove that opens into a gullet, into which food particles are absorbed.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.