pseudopod

American  

[soo-duh-pod] / ˈsu dəˌpɒd /

noun

Biology.

1. a temporary protrusion of the protoplasm, as of certain protozoans, usually serving as an organ of locomotion or prehension.

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pseudopod Scientific  

/ so̅o̅′də-pŏd′ /

plural

pseudopods

1. A temporary footlike extension of a one-celled organism, such as an amoeba, used for moving about and for surrounding and taking in food.

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Other Word Forms

• pseudopodal adjective
• pseudopodial adjective
• pseudopodic adjective

Etymology

Origin of pseudopod

1870–75; < New Latin pseudopodium; pseudo-, -podium

Example Sentences

The protist then transports its cytoplasm into the pseudopod, thereby moving the entire cell.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The water pseudopod was basically digitally created but optically composited.

From The Verge • Aug. 8, 2014

The awards are a very tentacular affair, the ubiquitous pseudopod somehow neatly summing up the Kitschies ethos – Lovecraftian horrors have tentacles, and so do bug-eyed monsters from outer space.

From The Guardian • Jan. 18, 2013

ILM has tamed the elements: fire and water are notoriously tough to animate, but the company managed the first convincingly in Backdraft and the second with the slinky pseudopod in The Abyss.

From Time Magazine Archive

By the statue hangs a faded banner: Bolivia Mar. When Bolivia declared its independence it had a territorial pseudopod that extended southwest from its Andean heartland through the Atacama Desert to the sea.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann