rhizoid

[rahy-zoid]

adjective

rootlike.

noun

(in mosses, ferns, etc.) one of the rootlike filaments by which the plant is attached to the substratum.

Origin of rhizoid

1855–60; rhiz- + -oid

Related formsrhi·zoi·dal, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for rhizoid

Historical Examples of rhizoid

Rhizoid: Of an irregular, branched, root-like character (Fig. 142, b).
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique
John William Henry Eyre

British Dictionary definitions for rhizoid

rhizoid

noun

any of various slender hairlike structures that function as roots in the gametophyte generation of mosses, ferns, and related plants

Derived Formsrhizoidal, adjective

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 rhizoid

adj.

"root-like," 1858, from Greek rhiza "root," literal and figurative (see rhizome) + -oid. As a noun from 1875.

rhizoid in Medicine

rhizoid

[rī′zoid′]

adj.

Rootlike.

Having irregular branching. Used of a form of bacterial growth.

n.

A slender rootlike filament by which mosses, liverworts, and fern gametophytes attach to the substratum and absorb nourishment.

A rootlike extension of the thallus of a fungus.

rhizoid in Science

rhizoid

[rī′zoid′]

A slender, rootlike filament by which mosses, liverworts, and the gametophytes of ferns attach themselves to the material in which they grow.

A branching, rootlike extension by which algae and fungi absorb water and nutrients.