protoplasm
[ proh-tuh-plaz-uh m ]
/ ˈproʊ təˌplæz əm /
noun
Biology. (no longer in technical use) the colloidal and liquid substance of which cells are formed, excluding horny, chitinous, and other structural material; the cytoplasm and nucleus.
Obsolete. the living matter of organisms regarded as the physical basis of life, having the ability to sense and conduct stimuli.
RELATED WORDS
thing, material, element, frame, carcass, torso, beef, muscle, meat, fat, body, individual, phenomenon, being, sum, object, entity, amount, stuff, quantity
Nearby words
- protopectin,
- protophilic,
- protophloem,
- protoplanet,
- protoplanetary disk,
- protoplasmic astrocyte,
- protoplast,
- protopod,
- protopodite,
- protopope
Origin of protoplasm
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for protoplasm
protoplasm
/ (ˈprəʊtəˌplæzəm) /
noun
biology the living contents of a cell, differentiated into cytoplasm and nucleoplasm
Word Origin for protoplasm
C19: from New Latin, from proto- + Greek plasma form
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
protoplasm
1848, from German Protoplasma (1846), used by German botanist Hugo von Mohl (1805-1872), on notion of "first-formed," from Greek proto- "first" (see proto-) + plasma "something molded" (see -plasm).
The word was in Late Latin with a sense of "first created thing," and it might have existed in ecclesiastical Greek in a different sense. It was used 1839 by Czech physiologist Johannes Evangelista Purkinje (1787-1869) to denote the gelatinous fluid found in living tissue. The modern meaning is a refinement of this. This word prevailed, though German language purists preferred Urschleim "original mucus."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
protoplasm
[ prō′tə-plăz′əm ]
n.
The complex, semifluid, translucent substance that constitutes the living matter of plant and animal cells and manifests the essential life functions of a cell. Composed of proteins, fats, and other molecules suspended in water, it includes the nucleus and cytoplasm.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
protoplasm
[ prō′tə-plăz′əm ]
The semifluid, translucent substance that forms the living matter in all plant and animal cells. Composed of proteins, fats, and other substances suspended in water, it includes the cytoplasm and (in eukaryotes) the nucleus.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
protoplasm
[ (proh-tuh-plaz-uhm) ]
The jellylike material in a cell, both inside and outside the nucleus, where the chemical reactions that support life take place.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.