protoplasm
- 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.
Origin of protoplasm
Related Words for protoplasm
thing, material, element, frame, carcass, torso, beef, muscle, meat, fat, body, individual, phenomenon, being, sum, object, entity, amount, stuff, quantityExamples from the Web for protoplasm
Historical Examples of protoplasm
Their protoplasm is contractile and their form varies according to the species.
The Sexual QuestionAugust Forel
Without their spirit life might never have moved out of protoplasm.
Howards EndE. M. Forster
The thing of protoplasm nearest me was moving but I was no longer interested.
Cogito, Ergo SumJohn Foster West
Cytoplasm: the protoplasm of a cell exclusive of nucleus; the cell body.
Explanation of Terms Used in EntomologyJohn. B. Smith
Spongioplasm: the net-like structure of protoplasm in a cell.
Explanation of Terms Used in EntomologyJohn. B. Smith
protoplasm
- biology the living contents of a cell, differentiated into cytoplasm and nucleoplasm
Word Origin for protoplasm
Word Origin and History for 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."
protoplasm
(prō′tə-plăz′əm)- 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.
protoplasm
- 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.
protoplasm
The jellylike material in a cell, both inside and outside the nucleus, where the chemical reactions that support life take place.