paramecium

[par-uh-mee-shee-uh m, -shuh m, -see-uh m]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR paramecium ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Origin of paramecium

1745–55; < New Latin < Greek paramḗk(ēs) oblong, oval + New Latin -ium noun suffix; see -ium

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for paramecium

cell, flagellate, organism, plasmodium, ameba, euglena, paramecium, ciliate, amoeba, sporozoan, stentor

Examples from the Web for paramecium

Historical Examples of paramecium

The Paramecium are propagated by spontaneous division, as already described.
The Ocean World:
Louis Figuier
Jennings found a number of races of paramecium of different sizes living under natural conditions.
A Critique of the Theory of Evolution
Thomas Hunt Morgan
Swimming vigorously in the water, they devote themselves to chasing the Paramecium.
The Ocean World:
Louis Figuier
The neurone, however, is a little unicellular animal, like the amoeba or the paramecium.
Introduction to the Science of Sociology
Robert E. Park

British Dictionary definitions for paramecium

paramecium

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

Word Origin and History for paramecium

1752, Modern Latin Paramecium, the genus name, coined from Greek paramekes "oblong, oval," from para- "on one side" (see para- (1)) + mekos "length," related to makros "long" (see macro-).

paramecium in Medicine

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.

paramecium in Science

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.