protist

[ proh-tist ]

/ ˈproʊ tɪst /

noun

any of various one-celled organisms, classified in the kingdom Protista, that are either free-living or aggregated into simple colonies and that have diverse reproductive and nutritional modes, including the protozoans, eukaryotic algae, and slime molds: some classification schemes also include the fungi and the more primitive bacteria and blue-green algae or may distribute the organisms between the kingdoms Plantae and Animalia according to dominant characteristics.

Nearby words

Origin of protist

1885–90; < New Latin Protista (neuter plural) name of the kingdom < Greek prṓtistos (masculine singular) the very first, superlative of prôtos first; see proto-

Related formspro·tis·tan

[proh-tis-tuh n] /proʊˈtɪs tən/, adjective, nounpro·tis·tic, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for protists

This monogenetic propagation is very common among the protists, both protophyta and protozoa.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel
It seems desirable to do the same for the science of the protists, or unicellular organisms.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel
(1894 Protists and Plants, 1895 Vertebrates, 1896 Invertebrates).
Darwin and Modern Science|A.C. Seward and Others
It is only in the case of the protists that the morphological unity is bound up with the physiological.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel

Human psychology is inseparably connected with comparative animal psychology, and this again with that of the plants and protists.
The Wonders of Life|Ernst Haeckel

British Dictionary definitions for protists

protist

/ (ˈprəʊtɪst) /

noun

(in some classification systems) any organism belonging to the kingdom Protista, originally including bacteria, protozoans, algae, and fungi, regarded as distinct from plants and animals. It was later restricted to protozoans, unicellular algae, and simple fungiSee also protoctist

Word Origin for protist

C19: from New Latin Protista most primitive organisms, from Greek prōtistos the very first, from prōtos first

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 protists

protist

1869, from Modern Latin Protista (German Protisten, Haeckel, 1868), from Greek neuter plural of protistos "the very first," superlative of protos "first" (see proto-).

Medicine definitions for protists

protist

[ prō′tĭst ]

n.

A unicellular, eukaroytic organism belonging to the former taxonomic kingdom Protista.

Science definitions for protists

protist

[ prō′tĭst ]

Any of a large variety of usually one-celled organisms belonging to the kingdom Protista (or Protoctista). Protists are eukaryotes and live in water or in watery tissues of organisms. Some protists resemble plants in that they produce their own food by photosynthesis, while others resemble animals in consuming organic matter for food. Protist cells are often structurally much more elaborate than the cells of multicellular plants and animals. Protists include the protozoans, most algae, diatoms, oomycetes, and the slime molds. Also called protoctist See Table at taxonomy.