plasm-

¹ American  

1. variant of plasmo- before a vowel.

   plasmapheresis.

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-plasm ² American  

1. a combining form with the meanings “living substance,” “tissue,” “substance of a cell,” used in the formation of compound words.

   endoplasm; neoplasm; cytoplasm.

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plasm ¹ British  

/ ˈplæzəm /

noun

1. protoplasm of a specified type

   germ plasm

2. a variant of plasma

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-plasm ² British  

combining form

1. (in biology) indicating the material forming cells

   protoplasm

   cytoplasm

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Usage

What does -plasm mean? The combining form -plasm is used like a suffix meaning “living substance,” "tissue," "substance of a cell." It is very occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in biology. The form -plasm comes from Greek plásma, meaning “something molded or formed.” Find out how plásma is related to plaster and plastic at our entries for both words. What are variants of -plasm?The form -plasm does not have any variants. However, it is related to the combining forms plasmo- and plasm-, as in plasmapheresis. Additional related forms include -plasia, -plasy, -plastic, and -plasty. To learn more, check out our Words That Use articles about these forms.

Other Word Forms

• -plasmic combining form

Etymology

Origin of -plasm

Combining form representing Greek plásma. See plasma

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